The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), which is investigating the discovery of prohibited substances from a cruise liner off the coast of Mumbai, told a Mumbai court on Tuesday that the case has resembled Agatha Christie and Sherlock Holmes stories, with “new twists and turns every instant.”
In the narcotics seizure case, the NCB has so far detained 16 persons, including Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan (23).
Abdul Qadir Sheikh (30), Shreyas Nair (23), Manish Rajgariya (26) and Avin Sahu (30) were sent to the NCB custody until October 11 by additional chief metropolitan magistrate RM Nerlikar on Tuesday.
On Monday, the court ordered Aryan Khan and seven others to be held in the NCB’s custody until Thursday.
Special public prosecutor (SPP) Advait Sethna told the court on Tuesday that the case has become “like Agatha Christie and Sherlock Holmes novels in that there is a fresh twist and turn at every time,” before making his submissions for the remand of the four defendants.
RM Nerlikar, extra chief metropolitan magistrate, remanded the four in NCB custody until October 11, saying that given the nature of the crime, a thorough inquiry was required to get to the bottom of the matter.
Mr Sethna subsequently filed a motion to have Sheikh’s remand proceedings conducted in front of a small group of persons.
“It means you want in-camera proceedings,” the judge responded. The SPP replied in the affirmative.
“It was forced to take this action (seeking proceedings in front of a small group of persons) because today’s remand is already in (media) coverage,” the NCB stated. The anti-drugs agency stated that it was interested in learning how the remand was leaked.
It further claimed that a request had been made to limit the accused’s exposure.
The magistrate, however, questioned how Sheikh’s identity could be secured given his name appears in the remand application.
In response to the NCB’s concerns about the presence of journalists, the court ruled that it could not prohibit the media and dismissed the motion.
Sethna informed the court that Sheikh was detained about 6 p.m. on Monday in Mumbai’s suburban Jogeshwari, and that a commercial quantity (of a drug) was taken from him.
Sheikh was found with 2.5 grammes of ecstasy and 54.3 grammes of mephedrone, according to the NCB.
According to the NCB, he was apprehended based on information obtained during the detention questioning of another arrested suspect, Mohak Jaswal.
Nair was also found with 2 gramme Charas, according to the FDA.
Sheikh and Nair are both (drug) suppliers, according to the NCB. The other two arrested suspects (Rajgariya and Sahu) were cruise ship passengers.
The NCB stated that “a nexus, links, role, and involvement of all these persons required further corroboration” in light of the seizures.
Sheikh, Nair, Rajgariya, and Sahu were charged under the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act’s sections 8(c) (produce, manufacture, possess, sell, or purchase of drugs) and 27 (punishment for consumption of any narcotics or drugs) and 27 A (punishment for financing illicit traffic and harbouring offenders) (NDPS).
Sheikh’s lawyer, Apoorv Srivastava, said his client was made a “scapegoat to shroud large faces.”
Mr Srivastava claimed that Sheikh was unfamiliar with Jaswal. The lawyer was perplexed as to why Jaswal chose Sheikh’s name.
He went on to say that Sheikh was detained a day after the drugs were seized, implying that it was a “premeditated case.”
Sheikh, on the other hand, might be taken into custody for a short length of time, according to the lawyer.
Other accused’s attorneys protested to the NCB’s remand motion, claiming that either a minor amount of drugs was confiscated from their clients or no seizure was made at all.
Following a raid on the Goa-bound ship on Saturday, the anti-drugs agency has arrested 16 persons, including Aryan Khan.
Aryan Khan (23) and seven other defendants were remanded in the NCB custody till Thursday by the court on Monday.
The NCB had told the court that “shocking and incriminating” data found in WhatsApp talks of Aryan Khan and two others arrested in the case proved worldwide drug trafficking.
The NCB further claimed that Aryan Khan is discussing ways of payment for procurement (of drugs) in WhatsApp discussions, and that many code names are being used.
Aryan Khan’s lawyer claimed that no narcotics were found in his client’s possession.
On Sunday, the NCB announced the seizure of 13 grammes of cocaine, five grammes of MD, 21 grammes of charas, and 22 Ecstasy pills, along with Rs 1.33 lakh.
The Chenab Times News Desk