A special NDPS court in Mumbai on Tuesday granted bail to two accused both passengers from Odisha on the Mumbai-Goa cruise ship – which was raided by the Narcotics Control Bureau on October 2.
Manish Rajgaria and Avin Sahu, both from Rourkela, have been granted bail of Rs 50,000 each.
The duo was among the total 20 arrested, including superstar Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan, after the NCB swooped on the Cordelia Cruise ship and bust an alleged rave party on board, sparking a nationwide sensation followed by a huge political row. While Rajgaria was accused of possessing 2.4 gms of ganja, Sahu was charged with accepting that he had consumed drugs twice on the ship, and nabbed after the cruise ship returned to Mumbai from Goa on October 4.
Arguing for bail, Sahu’s lawyer Sana Raees Khan contended that the NCB did not conduct a medical examination to ascertain if her client had indeed consumed drugs.
Seeking bail for Rajgaria, his lawyer Taraq Sayed said that no recovery was made from his client and the 2.4 gms of ganja allegedly shown in his possession was
handed over by the ship security personnel to the NCB.
While Rajgaria runs a sponge iron plant in Odisha, Sahu owns a jewellery shop in Rourkela and regularly travels to places like Dubai, Mumbai and other cities for
business purposes.
A total of another 18 arrested-accused still remain in judicial custody while the bail applications of three prominent accused, Aryan Khan, Arbaaz Merchant and Munmun Dhamecha will come up for further hearing before Bombay High Court on Wednesday.
