Aryan Khan was framed, cruise drug bust pre-planned: Witness to cops

Mumbai, Nov. 7: In a twist to the cruise drug bust case of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), a person claiming to be privy to pre-raid discussions has told the city police that actor Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan was framed by certain individuals to make money.

“I have reasons to believe that the raid was pre-planned and Aryan Khan was framed in the drug case. The entire strategy was finalised on September 27, while the cruise ship was raided on October 2,” Vijay Pagare told on Saturday. Pagare said the high-level police SIT team recorded his statement on November 3 and 4. “My statement was read out to me, and I signed it,” said Pagare.

Pagare said he had been staying with Sunil Patil, who had claimed he had passed on information about drugs on the cruise to the NCB. Patil’s name had come up in the statement of businessman Sam D’Souza, who had said panch witness K P Gosavi had saved Patil’s name as SW — referring to NCB zonal chief Sameer Wankhede — to show he had direct access to NCB.

Pagare said Patil owed him money, and he had been staying with him for the last few months in a bid to recover it. Patil was staying at a star hotel in Vashi on September 27 and another room in the same hotel was booked in Gosavi’s name.

At the hotel, another witness, BJP worker Manish Bhanushali, Gosavi and Patil met a few days before the raid, claimed Pagare. He was in the hotel room when Bhanushali kissed Patil and said, “Bada kaam ho gaya(the big work has been done). We have to leave for Ahmedabad but don’t take Pagare along.” Pagare said he was clueless about what was happening.

Vijay Pagare added, “Sunil Patil had told me not to interfere in his business. All his meetings took place at hotels and Sam D’Souza was among the people who came to meet him.”

“Before the cruise raid, he told me he had got work and would finally pay me back. I didn’t know anything about the case then. Later, I realised the money would come from this raid,” Vijay Pagare said.

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