The spectacular collapse of a much-hyped Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) investigation into alleged drug conspiracy charges against Aryan Khan holds lessons for those in charge of important agencies, policymakers and people. Since the arrest of actor Shah Rukh Khan’s son in October last year, several alleged procedural lapses had come to light, only to be capped by the anti-drug agency’s chargesheet in court last week admitting that corners were cut in what turned out to be an ordinary drug case,
The spectacular collapse of a much-hyped Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) investigation into alleged drug conspiracy charges against Aryan Khan holds lessons for those in charge of important agencies, policymakers and people. Since the arrest of actor Shah Rukh Khan’s son in October last year, several alleged procedural lapses had come to light, only to be capped by the anti-drug agency’s chargesheet in court last week admitting that corners were cut in what turned out to be an ordinary drug case, not an international conspiracy as had been alleged by the agency at the time.
The sordid episode showed that few lessons had been learnt from the botched probe into the Sushant Singh Rajput case of 2020, and harsh comments by the judiciary had not tempered any inclination by certain officers to go after high-profile targets and play to the plaint galleries. It underlined the dangers to civil liberties by the increasing usage of harsh provisions of stringent laws, such as the 1985 Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, to deny bail and restrict mobility. Both the Rajput and Khan cases proved how quickly baseless narratives can be stitched together with selective leaks and targeted propaganda, and highlighted the need for the government to insist that all investigations, however high-profile, must always follow procedure laid down by law.
The NCB chief has indicated that the agency has asked its investigators to now only focus on high-value, drug syndicate busts and not bother with petty cases that can be dealt with at the local level by the police. He has also indicated that the probe will be evaluated for lapses and intention. This is a welcome step, but the investigation must answer the questions that many citizens will be raising now – whether the agency overstepped its remit, bringing its investigative independence into question, or whether an officer and his team misused their powers to prove a point, or even worse, peddle influence or attempt extortion. The answers will be uncomfortable, but necessary to initiate a structural change and avert a repeat in the future.
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