Actor Shah Rukh Khan’s son yet again found himself trapped in a scandal strong enough to tarnish his father, king khan’s reputation.
The 23-year-old was arrested on October 3 in a drug case, along with his mates Munmun Dhamecha and Arbaaz Merchant. According to reports, the star kid left his home in Bandra, Mumbai on October 2 to attend a two-day musical voyage on a cruise ship organized by a Delhi-based events company. A team of the Narcotics Control Bureau’s (NCB’s) Mumbai unit led by zonal director Sameer Wankhede boarded the ship disguised as passengers upon receiving a tip-off. The search began, and the team members caught illegal drugs the same night while also detaining around seven people, including Aryan Khan. The NCB claimed to have seized 13 grams of cocaine, 5 grams of MD, 21 grams of charas, 22 pills of MDMA (ecstasy), and Rs1.33 lakh in cash during the raid on the Cordelia Cruises’ ship. Arrested under multiple sections, this could result in months or years of imprisonment for the star kid.
Bollywood actress Ananya Panday who made her debut in the industry with Student of the Year 2, is also under investigation in the drug case. Some reports suggest that the 22-year-old agreed to supply weed to Aryan. However, the actress has denied the accusation. To confirm whether the allegations are true or not, NCB is currently on a thorough search of Aryan’s chats. The arguments in favour of his bail suggest that no drugs were recovered from him. Even if true, allegations pertain to ‘small quantity’ and ‘consumption’ only. NCB’s arguments against the bail suggest that drugs recovered from Aryan’s friend, Merchant were for both of them. WhatsApp chats hint at international drug trafficking and that he is a regular consumer of contraband.
The world has its eyes set on the Khans while the internet waits for a reaction from Shahrukh himself. The father of three and the king of Bollywood has made waves on the internet after stepping out for the first time to meet his son two weeks following the arrest.
Several actors have asked the public not to pressurize the suffering family further, while also sending prayers.
Actress Pooja Bhatt took to Twitter to show her support. She reminded king khan, “This too shall pass.”
Meanwhile, Maharashtra minister and Nationalist Congress Party leader Nawab Malik called the raid fake, and the BJP was using central agencies to defame the Maharashtra government and Bollywood. One of the people present during the raid, he claimed, was associated with the BJP.
Shahrukh’s supporters have stood by him during this chaos, while many are throwing jabs at Aryan for tarnishing his father’s image that he spent decades building. Few videos circulating the internet claim that the film industry has closed its gates on the actor following his son’s arrest. However, this claim holds no proof.
Aryan’s bail has been rejected every time so far. His lawyer Satish Maneshinde, along with his team, went to the Bombay High Court to appeal for the rejected bail. The judiciary has decided to hear the appeal on October 26. Bollywood and the rest of the world awaits the court’s decision and whether Aryan would be granted the bail he’s waiting to receive.
