Aryan Khan drug case: Father of co-accused says ‘they are innocent’

Lawyer Aslam Merchant, father of Arbaaz, has said that the drug allegations made against his son and Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan are “baseless” and that “they are innocent”.

In an interview, Merchant acknowledged the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and said that the investigation agency has been “very nice to the kids”. 

The NCB detained Aryan, Arbaaz and several others on a Goa-bound cruise ship during a drug raid. On Monday the agency sought further custody of Aryan, Arbaaz and their friend Munmun Dhamecha till October 11. However, the court extended their custody only till October 7.

“It is all baseless allegations, but it is under investigation. It is very premature to state anything at this point in time. The NCB has been very cooperative and very nice to the kids. I being a lawyer, have faith in the judiciary. The truth will prevail… They are innocent,” Merchant told Times Now.

Also read: Aryan Khan remanded in custody till Oct 7 after high drama at court

Asked about the illegal drugs allegedly found on his son, Merchant said, “Whatever was found, was found inside the ship, not outside. They didn’t even enter the ship. They were guests.”

On Monday the NCB told a Mumbai court that it had discovered “shocking and incriminating” material in WhatsApp chats of Aryan and two others.

Merchant said: “There is absolutely no WhatsApp chats related to drugs. They were not even prepared. It was just a last-minute discussion of going to the ship. They were invitees. They just decided out of the blue. He had breakfast with me and was supposed to have dinner with me.”

Aryan’s lawyer claimed no drugs were recovered from his client. 

Six others – Nupur Satija, Ishmeet Chadha, Mohak Jaiswal, Gomit Chopra, Vikrant Chhokar and a drug supplier from suburban Juhu (name not disclosed) – were arrested later.