Mumbai Police have announced that they have secured substantial evidence against a Bangladeshi national arrested for stabbing Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan earlier this month. On January 28, Additional Commissioner of Police (West Region) Paramjit Dahiya confirmed the same during a press conference.
According to Dahiya, Mumbai Police have ample and robust evidence against the accused, including documentary, physical, and technical evidence.
Saif Ali Khan was attacked at his Bandra residence in the early hours of January 16. The accused, identified as Shariful Islam Shehzad Mohammad Rohilla Amin Fakir, also known as Vijay Das, reportedly stabbed the actor multiple times in the back, wrist, neck, shoulder, and elbow.Following an intensive search, the police apprehended Shariful in Thane. Dahiya stated that all necessary measures, including face recognition, fingerprints, and statements, form part of the evidence collection process before charges are filed.
Dahiya explained that the police are using various investigative tools, including face recognition technology, to verify the identity of the suspect seen on CCTV footage from the actor’s building. Fingerprint samples have also been sent to the Crime Investigation Department (CID), though a report is still awaited.
The accused reportedly entered India illegally and stayed briefly in Kolkata before relocating. Police are interrogating individuals in Kolkata who may have assisted him. Among the recovered evidence are a knife and a hexa blade believed to have been used in the attack.
While Shariful remains in custody, his father, Mohammad Ruhul, has claimed his son is being framed. Ruhul argued that Shariful is not the individual captured in the CCTV footage and intends to seek intervention from Bangladesh’s foreign ministry and the Indian High Commission.
A Mumbai court recently extended Shariful’s police custody until January 29, with further efforts underway to authenticate his identity using facial recognition technology.
