DJ Aqeel: Let the music play

Mumbai, June 6: He is known as “The Daddy” of remixes. Today, his wife’s daddy was at hand to try and save the day for DJ Aqeel, allegedly caught with drugs at Dubai airport last night.

Before flying to Dubai this morning, actor Sanjay Khan had told daughter Farha — in true Bollywood style — that he would bring her husband home in a few days, said a source close to the family.

It was not clear whether Khan could keep his promise. Initial reports said Dubai police released Aqeel on bail after reports of his blood and urine tests proved negative.

But, late tonight, PTI said in a report from Dubai that the DJ has not been granted bail as he has yet to be produced in court.

Lawyers based in the United Arab Emirates said it could take a “few weeks” for an individual facing drug charges to be produced in court.

Officials in the Indian consulate in Dubai said they had not been contacted on the matter so far.

Even if Aqeel is granted bail eventually, the case will carry on in the Dubai court, where he will be summoned as and when required.

The disc jockey runs a high-end night club in Mumbai called Poison and has recently composed music for Ek Chalis Ki Last Local. He jumped the popularity charts with his remixes for Farhan Akhtar’s Don, which also earned him the epithet DJ Don.

Aqeel had gone to Dubai for a radio programme at the city’s Trilogy Club to release his remix video Wada Karo Nahin Chhodoge Tum Mera Saath.

His friends and family, led by wife Farah, insisted that Aqeel was not a drug user and had been fixed by jealous rivals, but Mumbai police say otherwise.

“Well, we knew he was into party drugs and the drug he has been allegedly caught with in Dubai is known to be one. But there was no information about him being a drug peddler,” an officer said.

Aqeel, who has played alongside Ricky Martin and Kylie Minogue, was allegedly caught with two capsules containing a total of 0.4 gm of Ecstasy — a party drug.

Comparatively cheaper than others, the price of a 100-150 mg Ecstasy capsule ranges between Rs 700 and Rs 1,200 in Mumbai. It is particularly cheap in Europe, where distribution is more extensive.

“In the Netherlands, the price of an Ecstasy tablet may be as low as 0.50 euros (about Rs 25), but elsewhere in Europe it is common to pay 3-6 euros (Rs 150-300). Usually, you get them when travelling to Europe or even Dubai, where it is easily available,” said a Mumbai socialite, who is also a mother of two teenagers.

Cocaine, another favourite among party-goers and an addictive drug unlike Ecstasy, is sold at Rs 2,500-4,000 here.

Aqeel is the third regular on the celebrity circuit to be caught with drugs in Dubai.

“The UAE usually gives the death sentence if the peddling angle can be proved,” said the police official.

Earlier, actor Vijay Raaz and fashion designer Prasad Bidappa had to spend days behind bars before being rescued by the Indian mission. But unlike Aqeel and Raaz, Bidappa had tested positive for the drug.

Actor Fardeen Khan, the first cousin of Aqeel’s wife Farha, was arrested in 2001 for purchasing cocaine from a drug peddler. The case is still on.