Bollywood superstar’s Shah Rukh Khan’s son has been granted bail after being arrested in a cruise ship drug bust three weeks ago.
The eldest son of the “King of Bollywood” Aryan Khan, 23, was detained in early October alongside 19 others after the Narcotics Control Bureau raided a ship set to sail from Mumbai to Goa.
He was finally granted bail at the fourth attempt alongside two others by the High Court of Bombay on their fourth attempt.
Khan’s lawyer, former attorney-general Mukul Rohatgi, told reporters that he would likely be released on Friday or Saturday.
Khan’s case has dominated front pages and headlines across India, receiving non-stop coverage on news channels.
In fact, supporters claim that Khan, a Muslim is a victim of religious persecution in a country governed by a Hindu-nationalist party.
The family has received tons of support on social media, with many calling the arrest a witch-hunt.
Fans have also gathered outside the elder Khan’s seaside mansion in Mumbai to show solidarity. Several Bollywood A-listers have also showed support for the family.
On the other hand, the officer investigating the case, Sameer Wankhede, faces an internal probe within the narcotics bureau and another by Mumbai police following allegations of bribery and extortion related to the case.
Rohatgi had pushed that the court grant Aryan Khan should be bail as no drugs were found in his possession, and prosecutors had no proof of any consumption.
However, the narcotics agency opposed bail, arguing that the investigation revealed an international drug connection and had found drug-related WhatsApp chats on his phone.
Khan’s high profile case comes a year after the suicide of Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput and the arrest of his ex-girlfriend, actress Rhea Chakraborty, for allegedly buying him drugs.
Her arrest sparked a wider probe into drug use in Bollywood. Bollywood superstar Deepika Padukone and others hauled in for questioning.
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