Actor Ananya Panday, who was reportedly summoned by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), reached the probe agency's office on Thursday. She was summoned after NCB retrieved her chat messages from Aryan Khan’s phone, according to a report published in The Times Of India. Shah Rukh Khan's son Aryan, along with a few others, was arrested by the NCB on October 3 in connection with the seizure of banned drugs onboard a cruise ship off the Mumbai coast.
Ananya Panday was asked to reach the NCB office for questioning at 2 pm on Thursday, an India Today report quoted NCB DDG Ashok Mutha Jain as saying. A TOI report added the NCB claimed that the actress' name apparently figures in some WhatsApp chats recovered from Aryan Khan's phone and that she will be grilled by NCB zonal director Sameer Wankhede and a female officer.
According to an NDTV report, Ananya's Mumbai home was raided today by the NCB and her laptop and mobile phone were seized.
Ananya, daughter of actor Chunky Panday, made her Bollywood debut in the 2019 film Student of the Year 2. Notably, Ananya and Aryan's sister Suhana are best friends.
Ananya's family is reportedly seeking legal counsel for her to reply to the NCB summons.
On Wednesday, a special NDPS court rejected Aryan Khan's bail application, following which he moved the Bombay High Court to seek relief.
Aryan Khan was sent to 14-day judicial custody on October 7 and has been lodged at the Arthur Road jail since then. Aryan’s lawyer had argued that no contraband was found on him and that he will not tamper with evidence - after the NCB strongly opposed his bail plea. The NDPS court, however, ruled that Aryan's custody should be extended.
Meanwhile, Shah Rukh Khan on Thursday made his first public appearance ever since his Aryan got arrested.
On late Thursday afternoon, the NCB officers arrived at Shah Rukh Khan and Gauri Khan's residence for some paperwork. According to a report by The Times Of India, an NCB officer spoke about Ananya being served the summons. He said, ''The investigation is going on. When NCB officials visit a person or location for questioning that does not mean the person is a culprit or being investigated. There are several procedures being followed.''
So far, 20 people have been arrested in the Mumbai drug bust case.
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