Mehbooba Mufti gives communal spin to drug bust: 'Aryan targeted by NCB for being a Khan'

Lashing out at the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) for cracking down on Shah Rukh Khan's son Aryan Khan in a drug bust, PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti alleged Aryan was being targetted due to his surname - Khan. Comparing Aryan Khan's arrest to Union MoS Ajay Mishra's son - Ashish, she claimed that Muslims were targeted by the BJP to satiate its core vote bank. Aryan Khan and seven others have been arrested in an NCB drug bust at Mumbai's international cruise port on October 2. Ashish Mishra too has been arrested by UP police for allegedly mowing down 4 farmers in Lakhimpur Khedi.

Mufti gives 'Muslim' twist to Aryan Khan arrest

Similar targetting claims had been aired by Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury. He had pointed out that the alacrity of arresting Aryan was conspicuously absent in the case of arresting Ashish. Comparing Aryan's arrest to Rhea Chakraborty's he said that severe punishment to teenage khan for a venial offence should not be awarded. Aryan Khan is currently in judicial custody and his bail plea will be heard by Mumbai's session court on Wednesday. NCB has found no drugs in Aryan Khan's possession, but has sought his prolonged custody to confront with other arrested accused.

NCB's drug bust off Mumbai coast

On Saturday night, NCB busted a high-profile drug party on Cordelia cruise ship en route from Mumbai to Goa, and seized small amounts of Cocaine, Mephedrone, Charas, Hydroponic Weed, MDMA and cash Rs. 1,33,000. As per sources, NCB Zonal Director Sameer Wankhede, along with his team, boarded the cruise ship in the guise of passengers after receiving a tip-off about the purported drug party from the CISF.  According to NCB officials, these people, along with about 1,200 people on board the ship,were heading to deep sea for a sundowner party. Eight people - Aryan Khan, Arbaaz Merchantt, Munmun Dhamecha, Nupur Sarika, Ismeet Singh, Mohak Jaswal, Vikrant Chhoker, Gomit Chopra were detained, while six others were let off by the NCB.

Later after questioning, all eight were sent to NCB custody and then judicial custody. As of date, 20 people have been arrested by the NCB based on nine independent witnesses including -  Manish Bhanushali and K.P Gosavi. While NCP pointed out Bhanushali and Gosavi's BJP's links, NCB has maintained that the agency did not know them prior to 2 October.