Actor Ajaz Khan, who rose to fame with his stint on Bigg Boss 7, was granted bail after spending 26 months in Arthur Road Jail. On Friday, he walked out of the prison in Mumbai. Speaking exclusively to us after his release, Khan expressed his perspective on the events leading to his arrest. “The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) detained me at the airport without any warrant. My blood test was negative; I only had a sleeping pill with me,” Khan asserted.

The actor was detained by the NCB at the Mumbai airport in connection with a drug case in 2021 and was subsequently arrested in March the same year. His name allegedly surfaced during the interrogation of drug peddler Shadab Batata.

Khan vehemently denies any involvement in the crime, stating, “There is no evidence against me in the chargesheet. They arrested me based on a concocted story.”

Currently out on bail, Khan has approached the Supreme Court seeking exoneration. He remains hopeful of receiving justice. “Justice exists in India, but it is often delayed, causing immense damage to a person’s life. I know I will get justice. I want to clear my name for my family,” says Khan, who was arrested by Sameer Wankhade, former Mumbai NCB bureau zonal director, who is currently under scrutiny by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for multiple inspections, including the controversial raid on the Cordelia cruise ship in October 2021.

Reflecting on his 26-month-long incarceration, the actor admits to have undergone a transformation: “I have learnt to survive in any condition.”

However, he acknowledges the irreversible loss of the last two years. “I have gone through so much. I lost the web series Inspector Avinash. I had Covid-19; my family was going through depression; my son is 11 now, he was nine when I left him; he goes to school; and when I was behind bars, he was going to a psychiatrist for therapy. I felt extremely lonely during festivals, my wife’s and son’s birthdays. When I entered jail, I broke down mentally, physically and emotionally,” Khan ends.