Aryan Khan was granted bail by the Bombay High Court on October 28 (File)
During Aryan Khan's incarceration over drugs-related charges, his father Shah Rukh Khan received support from many in the film fraternity and from Maharashtra's ruling Shiv Sena and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). Rahul Gandhi also wrote to Shah Rukh Khan at the time, it has now emerged.
Rahul Gandhi wrote to the superstar on October 14, six days after Aryan Khan was jailed in Mumbai's Arthur Road prison. By then, the 23-year-old star son had already been denied bail by a court.
In the letter, the Congress leader told Shah Rukh Khan that "the country is with you", according to sources.
Aryan Khan was finally granted bail by the Bombay High Court on October 28 and he was released last Saturday, hours after his bail documents reached the jail.
Aryan Khan spent nearly a month in jail after his arrest following a drugs bust on a cruise ship party on October 2 by Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) officials in disguise.
Though no drugs were found on him, the anti-drugs agency claimed in courts that his WhatsApp chats proved his involvement in "illicit drug deals" and links with a foreign drugs cartel. The High Court has since held that WhatsApp chats were not enough to establish that one of the accused had supplied drugs to Aryan Khan.
While fans gathered outside Shah Rukh Khan's home in a show of support for their beloved movie star, the film industry was far more guarded at first. After stars like Salman Khan and Hrithik Roshan and filmmaker Farah Khan expressed solidarity in the first few days of Aryan Khan's custody, a deluge of support and wishes came after he got bail.
The Sena and the NCP accused the anti-drugs agency of targeting SRK on orders from the Centre. The NCP also targeted top NCB officer Sameer Wankhede, raised questions on the investigation and alleged that he had used fake caste certificates in his career.