Saif Ali Khan attack: Mumbai Police says facial recognition of arrested accused needed

 Saif was stabbed multiple times during an alleged robbery attempt at his Bandra house in Mumbai on January 16.

SNS | New Delhi | January 25, 2025 : Days after the arrest of a Bangladeshi illegal immigrant in connection with actor Saif Ali Khan attack, the Mumbai Police Friday told the court that they need facial recognition of the suspect to ascertain whether he is the person captured in the CCTV footage from the actor’s apartment building.

Saif was stabbed multiple times during an alleged robbery attempt at his Bandra house in Mumbai on January 16. Following the attack, the police detained two suspects, who apparantly looked like the accused, but released them later.

However, on January 19, the Mumbai Police arrested Shareeful Islam Shehzad Mohammad Rohilla Amin Fakir, claiming he was the accused. Later, the police revealed that the arrested accused is a Bangladeshi national who entered India illegally.

The accused was produced before a local court in Mumbai and was sent to judicial custody till January 29. During the hearing, the police told the court that a digital facial recognition is needed to confirm that he was the person seen in the CCTV footage.

However, the father of the accused claimed that although his son entered India illegally, he is not the one who attacked the Bollywood actor. In a media interview, he claimed that the person captured in the CCTV footage is not his son.

Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole has also raised doubts over the Mumbai Police probe into the attack on Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan, questioning whether the arrested accused is the same person captured in the CCTV footage.

He said there are reports about the person caught on the CCTV camera and the one arrested by the police not being the same person.

While reacting to Maharashtra Minister Nitesh Rane’s “garbage” remarks on Saif Ali Khan, Patole said that instead of raising the Hindu-Muslim angle, the police must catch the real culprit.

The police are now believed to be preparing to conduct digital facial recognition of the accused to resolve uncertainties regarding his identity.