Was Aryan Khan a Victim of Police Corruption?

An NCB vigilance probe has hinted that Aryan Khan may have been targeted.

Aryan was arrested in 2021 in a drugs case during a raid on a cruise ship.

An internal probe by the NCB has revealed there were many irregularities in their investigation. The report has also said that seven to eight NCB officers exhibited “suspicious behaviour” during the investigation.

These findings have cast a major cloud over the NCB and its officers.

Although Aryan was released without charge, both political individuals and names from the film industry alleged that the NCB’s investigation was far from ideal.

During the investigation, statements from 65 witnesses were recorded while bank details and other financial details of the family members of the officers in question were also monitored.

It was reported that a few of those questioned changed their statements numerous times.

Most of the officers are from the department, however, a report will be submitted to the authority to take action against the ones who are not currently serving the department.

NCB officials revealed that the special investigation team (SIT) submitted its vigilance report.

The SIT was formed to probe allegations of corruption by investigating officers in the Aryan Khan case. The SIT also found lapses in the investigation of other related and unrelated cases as well.

An official said: “The role of 7 to 8 NCB officers has been found to be suspicious in this case, for which departmental inquiry has been initiated.

“Permission has been sought from senior officers to take action against those who are outside NCB.”

It is believed that the revelations are the second setback for the NCB.

The first one was when Aryan Khan was given the clean chit by the Court in May 2022, eight months after his arrest in the cruise drugs bust. After Aryan’s acquittal, the NCB had to admit that they had not found “sufficient evidence” against Aryan and five other co-accused persons.

Some of the major allegations made by NCB officials against Aryan included that he was “a regular user of drugs”, he was involved in “illicit drug trafficking”, and he was a participant in “procuring and distribution of drugs”.

But after the Court proceedings and judgment, the NCB had to backtrack its allegations. With these new revelations coming to light, the NCB’s involvement in the high-profile case seems to have taken another serious hit.