Actor Ajaz Khan was arrested on Wednesday morning in the latest development connected with the ongoing "Bollywood drug syndicate" case. He was detained at Mumbai Airport on Tuesday and interrogated for eight hours by India's Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB).
During the raid on his Mumbai residentce, the NCB recovered alprazolam, a benzodiazepine medication that is usually used to treat anxiety and panic disorders.
Bollywood Actor #AjazKhan arrested by #NCB in Drugs Case From Mumbai Airport & Brought To The NCB Office, Ajaz Khan is suspected to be associated with Batata Gang.👇#AjazKhanArrested when he was trying to leave #Mumbai before getting arrested by NCB involved in drug nexus.👇 pic.twitter.com/Oc714WZfQK
— Gulshan Sirohi (@SirohiGulshan) March 30, 2021
Reacting to the allegations, Ajaz told the Indian news agency ANI that only sleeping pills were found in his residence which his wife was taking to treat her depression.
Maharashtra: NCB takes actor Ajaz Khan for a medical check-up before producing him before a court in Mumbai for remand.
— ANI (@ANI) March 31, 2021
"Only 4 sleeping pills were found at my home. My wife has suffered a miscarriage & is using these pills as antidepressants," he says. pic.twitter.com/y3R1UG3wvK
The NCB also suspected the actor of being involved with a drug syndicate run by narcotics peddlers Farukh Batata and his son Shadab Batata.
Ajaz's name popped up in the ongoing investigation after Shadab Batata's arrest for the possession of over 2 kilogrammes of mephedrone, banned in India, on 25 March.
This is not the first time that Ajaz's name has surfaced in a drug case. In 2018, the former "Bigg Boss" contestant was arrested by the NCB over possession of eight ecstasy pills and banned narcotics substances.
The actor will be appear before a Mumbai court later in the day for remand.
Many Bollywood A-listers, including Deepika Padukone, Arjun Rampal, Shraddha Kapoor, and Sara Ali Khan have been interrogated in connection with the drug case pertaining to actor Sushant Singh Rajput's death. The latter was found hanging from a ceiling fan at his apartment in Mumbai last year.
In September 2020, Sushant's ex-girlfriend Rhea Chakraborty and her brother Showik Chakraborty, among others, were arrested for supposedly providing the deceased actor with drugs. The Bombay High Court granted bail to Rhea after she spent nearly one month behind bars.
