The Diwali arrived early at Shah Rukh Khan’s six-storey residence “Mannat” at Bandra in north-west Mumbai, as the superstar’s son Aryan returned to his home on Saturday to a burst of crackers, the beating of drums, a spontaneous rip-roaring jig by the actor’s hundreds of fans and a welcome banner that read “Stay strong Prince Aryan”, after 29 days of incarceration triggered by his arrest in the mid-sea drug bust case.
It was an emotional moment for SRK as he waited in his car near the Arthur Road Central Jail for the release of his eldest son who walked out of the high-security prison at 11.03 am. Sporting a blue jersey with his mane visible and face covered by a dark mask, Aryan – accompanied by personal bodyguards and bouncers – quietly made his way to the white SUV where his anxious father received with him a hug.
The reunion over, the father-son duo headed straight from the jail located at Chinchpokli in south Mumbai to their home that is 15 km away at Bandra (west) via the Bandra-Worli Sea Link.
A stone throw away from the once-heritage bungalow “Mannat” which SRK bought from Bai Khorshed Bhanu Sanjana Trust in 2001and converted it into a six-storey building, scores of Shah Rukh’s fans greeted Aryan with drum beats, a burst of crackers, spontaneous jig and waving of banners of the father-son duo. Near the “Mannat” gate, fans displayed a huge banner with photographs of Aryan that read: “WELCOME HOME ARYAN KHAN... STAY STRONG PRINCE ARYAN”.
Finally, Aryan was back in time for home-cooked lunch, 29 days after he left 'Mannat' on the morning of October 2 for what he thought would be a fun-filled Mumbai-Goa luxury cruise, which eventually turned out to be an unforgettable ordeal for him -- which must have taught him lessons of life.
Waiting for Aryan at “Mannat” were his mother Gauri, sister Suhana and AbRam. Twenty-one-year-old Suhana, who is two years younger than Aryan, had celebrated the Bombay High Court’s order granting bail to her brother delivered on Thursday by posting on Instagram a collage of black-and-white photographs showing father SRK indulging her and elder brother when they were children.
Earlier in the morning, father SRK-- with anxiety having got the better of him – had left his home a tad bit early to receive Aryan after his release from the Arthur Road Central Jail. En route, he got to know about an announcement made to the media by Jail Superintendent Nitin Waychal that it would take some more time for Aryan to step out of the prison. Realising that there was no point in reaching the prison earlier, he diverted his way to a five-star hotel where he waited in his car and had light refreshment. Later, he headed near the prison to receive his son.
While out on bail, Aryan will have to comply with 14 conditions that the Bombay High Court has imposed on him and two others Arbaaz Merchant and Munmun Dhamecha.
Aryan, Arbaaz, Munmun and five others were initially detained on the night of October 2 and later arrested on October 3, after the NCB officials busted a rave party and seized 13 grams of cocaine, 5 grams of MD (Mephedrone), 21 grams of Charas, 22 pills of MDMA (Ecstasy) and Rs 1.33 lakh in cash from Goa-bound Cordelia Cruises' Empress ship, off the Mumbai coast. Subsequently, 12 more persons were arrested in connection with the mid-sea rave party.
With Aryan having already complied with first of the demands i.e execution of personal bond with one or sureties for the like amount, the other conditions include: he shall not indulge in any activity similar to the activities on the basis of which the said CR stands registered against them for offences under the NDPS Act; he shall not try to establish communication with co-accused or any other person involved directly or indirectly in similar activities or make any call to any person indulging in similar activities as alleged against them, through any mode of communication.
In other conditions, the court has restrained Aryan from making any attempt to neither influence the witnesses nor tamper with the evidence, which is prejudicial to the proceedings before the Special NDPS court and mandated him to surrender his passport before the Special Court immediately and not leave the country without prior permission from the Special court.
The court has asked him to join the investigations as and when he is called to do so by the NCB, to mark his presence before the NCB office between 11 am and 2 pm on every Friday, to remain present in the court on all the hearing days unless prevented by a reasonable cause, that he will not do anything to delay the trial and that will violate any bail conditions.
