A court today gave the Mumbai police 5 day custody of Shariful Islam Shehzad who was arrested for allegedly breaking into the home of Saif Ali Khan and injuring him and his staff last night.
The accused is a Bangladeshi and was picked up early today from Thane. Shariful, the police said, had entered India illegally and was living in Mumbai for the past few months under the name Bijoy Das.
He was produced in court hours after his arrest. Police told the court that Shariful entered India illegally and are investigating who helped him and who aided him here. The court is also probing his acquaintances in Mumbai.
Police sought 14 day custody of Shariful and said they found out he was a Bangladeshi only after his arrest.
The 54 year old actor has 6 stab injuries, one near his spine in the attack. Police said the knife broke into three pieces, one of which is still missing. One of the pieces has been recovered from Saif’s body.
Police also told the court that they suspect Shariful has hidden the clothes he was wearing that day as they had blood stains after his fight with Saif. They said the clothes need to be recovered so that blood samples can be matched.
The public prosecutor said the accused knew that the Bandra locality where Saif Ali Khan lives with his family is a celebrity hub and has tight security. Despite that he managed to break into the actor’s house, police said, he had a plan.
The accused’s lawyer told the court that the allegations against him are false and that the matter is in focus because a celebrity has been targeted. The accused’s lawyer said he is being made a scapegoat in the big case.
Dinesh Prajapati, who is the accused’s lawyer, told the media, "We have said in his defence that nothing has been recovered from him. They have not produced any document to prove he is a Bangladeshi national.”
