Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan arrested in drugs investigation
- Aryan Khan, 23, was arrested over the weekend after police raided a ship off Mumbai and found narcotics, in a case that has captivated India’s media
- A court sent him and two others to three days’ custody, with a lawyer saying they have been accused of consumption
Aryan Khan was arrested on Saturday night after police raided a ship off Mumbai and found narcotics, local media said.
The court remanded Khan and two others in custody with the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), the federal agency that is investigating the case.
A spokesperson for Shah Rukh Khan did not respond to requests for comment. Calls to the NCB went unanswered outside regular business hours.
“They have been accused of consumption, but there is no evidence for the same,” Advait Tamhankar, a lawyer who appeared for one of the other two accused, told reporters outside the courtroom.
Television cameras showed a gaggle of reporters and police around Aryan Khan as he was ushered into a vehicle at the end of the hearing.
He is expected to go before the court again on October 7.
Many high-profile Indian actors and TV personalities have been under scrutiny from narcotics officials since last year.
In September 2020, several top female actors were questioned by the NCB, though it was unclear how the investigation progressed.
Some Bollywood personalities have defended Aryan Khan and criticised the media glare around his arrest.
“The slightest misdemeanour risks being wildly exaggerated,” film producer Pritish Nandy said on Twitter on Sunday.
“Kids make mistakes. Punish him, by all means, if the tests confirm his guilt. But let’s not crucify him in the media.”
