Aryan Khan drug case: Mehbooba Mufti attacks Indian govt over double standards

Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti took a dig at the BJP government on Monday over the arrest of Aryan Khan in a drugs case.

The arrest, she said, was a "travesty of justice", comparing it with the instance of an Indian Minister's son allegedly running over four farmers in Lakhimpur Kheri, Uttar Pradesh, reports NDTV.  

"Instead of making an example out of a Union Minister's son accused of killing four farmers, central agencies are after a 23-year-old simply because his surname happens to be Khan.Travesty of justice that muslims are targeted to satiate the sadistic wishes of BJPs core vote bank," Mehbooba Mufti tweeted.

Aryan Khan, arrested a more than week ago from a cruise ship where a rave party was in progress, was denied bail for a third time today. He has argued that he was not in possession of any drugs.

India's Narcotics Control Bureau or NCB has argued that if released, he could tamper with evidence and try to influence witnesses. Aryan Khan, the agency said, has to be questioned along with others arrested in the case to help track the international drugs cartel involved.

In Uttar Pradesh, Ashish Mishra, the son of junior home minister Ajay Mishra, was arrested on Saturday -- five days after he was accused of murder and named in a First  Information Report. Farmers attending a rally at the spot on 3 October to protest against the visit of his father, alleged that he had mowed down for farmers.

Ashish Mishra and his father both claimed that they were not present at the spot.

The arrest took place after sharp rebuke from the Indian Supreme Court and questions about VIP treatment of an accused.

Amid nationwide outrage, the opposition parties have been vocal about the incident. On Monday, a strike has been called in Maharashtra by the ruling partners in the Maha Vikas Aghadi government to protest against the killing of farmers.