Aryan Khan says NCB ruined his reputation while SRK laments being painted as 'criminals'

Aryan Khan, son of Bollywood superstar Shahrukh Khan asked the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) officials if labelling him an “international drug trafficker” was fair despite there being no illegal drugs recovered from his possessions.

Aryan was arrested by the NCB during an alleged drug sting operation aboard a cruise ship just off the coast of Mumbai in October last year. He spent several weeks in jail at the behest of the NCB who let him off on bail after several weeks of deliberations.

The accusations levelled against him ranged from possession of illegal drugs to links with international drug cartels. In May 2022, he was cleared after an investigation by the NCB, which cited “lack of sufficient evidence" as the reason for the clean chit.

Now, according to India Today, NCB’s deputy director-general (operations) Sanjay Singh, who led the probe, has opened up about conversations he had with Aryan. He recalled Aryan raising some “soul-searching queries.” And quoted him as saying, “Sir, you have painted me as an international drug trafficker, that I finance drug trafficking — aren’t these charges absurd? They did not find any drugs on my person that day and yet they arrested me. Sir, you have done me great wrong and ruined my reputation. Why did I have to spend so many weeks in jail — did I really deserve it?”

Fans of Shah Rukh Khan and leading opposition parties in India had cited political motives behind Aryan’s arrest, as per The Indian Express. The government has now announced recommended action against former NCB zonal director Sameer Wankhede for his “shoddy investigation” of the case.

In the India Today report, Singh also claims to have conversed with Shah Rukh. “We have been painted as some kind of big criminals or monsters who are out to destroy society and we find going to work tough every day,” Singh quoted the Bollywood King as saying.

After spending months under the radar, the actor has now resumed work and will be seen in three films – Pathaan, Jawan, Dunki – next year, each of which were announced back-to-back over the last few weeks. Aryan is reportedly in the process of penning down some content for streaming platforms, while his sister Suhana Khan will make her acting debut in the upcoming Netflix film The Archies.

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