On Wednesday, the Bandra Court sent Mohammad Shariful Islam Shehzad, the accused in the Saif Ali Khan attack case, to a 14-day judicial custody. Mumbai police arrested Shehzad on January 19.
The court’s decision comes after the police sought a two-day extension of his custody for further investigation. However, the court noted that there were no fresh grounds to justify the extension. The magistrate observed that the investigation was seemingly complete and that no new evidence made way. Meanwhile, the court iterated that the police can request fresh custody if any new developments surfaced within the permissible time frame.
For the unversed, Mumbai police arrested Shehzad, a Bangladeshi national from neighbouring Thane on January 19. They stated that they have “ample and strong evidence” against the accused. These include documentary, physical, and technical proof. The police have requested facial recognition technology to verify the accused’s identity in the footage. Moreover, they are also evaluating statements from Saif Ali Khan, Kareena Kapoor Khan, and the house staff.
During a previous press conference, Additional Commissioner of Police (West Region), Paramjit Dahiya, revealed the progress of the investigation. He stated the accused’s detection as “excellent, proof-based.” He also credited the DCP Zone 9 team and the crime branch for their efforts.
Meanwhile, recently, reports suggested that Shehzad’s fingerprints didn’t match the prints obtained from Saif’s house. As reported by NDTV, according to sources, Mumbai Police sent the fingerprints found at Saif’s home to the fingerprint bureau of the state Criminal Investigation Department (CID). Now, a system-generated report establishes that the prints do not match Shezad’s. As per sources, the CID has informed Mumbai Police that the test result is negative. Following this, Mumbai Police has sent more samples for further testing.
Also Read: Saif Ali Khan attack: fingerprints mismatch; wrong accused arrested?
Additionally, social media users believe that Shehzad’s facial features didn’t resemble the accused caught on CCTV. Adding a twist to the case, Mohammad Ruhul, the father of the arrested publicly claimed that his son was being wrongly framed. Ruhul alleged that the person in the CCTV footage was not his son. He added that Shehzad had been living in fear of arrest due. This is because he has no proper documentation legitimising his stay in India. Ruhul announced that he is going to approach Bangladesh’s foreign ministry and the Indian High Commission to secure his son’s release.
Meanwhile, following his arrest, Dikshit Gedam, DCP, Crime Branch, Mumbai, rebuffed the difference in appearance between the man on CCTV and Shehzad. He said, “The questions being raised over the difference between the facial features of the arrested person and the one in the footage are totally rubbish. “The media has only two pieces of footage of the accused, which had been released earlier. We have several videos of him from different angles, including some in high resolution, which clearly establish the identity of the accused.”
Saif Ali Khan suffered six injuries during his scuffle with the intruder in his Mumbai abode. During the confrontation, the perpetrator stabbed the actor. A doctor from the hospital revealed that the actor suffered six injuries with one being very close to his spine. As per the FIR by Saif’s house staff, the thief was first seen in Jeh’s room. Upon confrontation, he demanded Rs 1 crore.