#MumbaiDrugBust: With Mukul Rohatgi representing, will Aryan finally get bail?
Will Bombay High Court finally grant some relief to Shah Rukh Khan's son today? All eyes will be on the court as it hears an appeal by Aryan against a bail rejection order given by a special Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) court earlier. He will be represented by Former Attorney General for India Mukul Rohatgi. The hearing will begin at around 10:30am.
A witness brought serious extortion allegation against NCB officer Sunday
The last few days have seen a lot of turns emerge in the Cordelia Cruises drugs bust case. An independent witness of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB)—named Prabhakar Sail—leveled extortion allegations against individuals, including NCB Zonal Director Sameer Wankhede. The allegations are being looked into. Sail is the bodyguard of KP Gosavi—a private detective and NCB witness, who clicked the viral selfie with Aryan.
Nawab Malik released letter that claims Wankhede regularly extorted money
On the flip side, Wankhede was again attacked by Nationalist Congress Party leader Nawab Malik. The Maharashtra minister alleged Wankhede was a Muslim named "Sameer Dawood Wankhede" and a forger. Today, he revealed the contents of a letter apparently sent by an NCB officer, which said Wankhede purposely targets Bollywood stars. An "attention seeker," Wankhede has extorted money several times in the past.
Malik said he'll be forwarding letter to NCB Director General
This is why the NDPS court had rejected his bail
Now coming to the hearing, a single bench of Justice NW Sambre will be hearing the bail plea. Rejecting Aryan's bail application, the NDPS court noted on October 20 that the 23-year-old's chats showed he was "dealing in illicit drug activities on a regular basis." It cannot be said he would not commit any similar offense if granted bail, the special court had noted.
Hearing of Munmun Dhamecha, Arbaaz Merchantt also lined for today
Before that, a magistrate's court also rejected his bail plea. Notably, today the HC will hear pleas of the co-accused in the case, Munmun Dhamecha and Arbaaz Merchantt, too. According to Live Law, the matters have been listed as items 57-59. They were arrested on October 3 following a surprise raid on the Empress Ship of the cruise company. Stay tuned for more updates.
