Saif Ali Khan attack case: Mumbai top cop says ‘caught right person’, gives big update on fingerprint mismatch report

Saif Ali Khan attack case: The Mumbai Police clarified on Tuesday that they had “caught the right person” amid reports of mismatched fingerprints between those retrieved from Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan's Bandra apartment and those of the man arrested. The police affirmed their confidence in the arrest, stating they possessed sufficient evidence to confirm the accused's involvement in the case.

Further, Additional CP West, Mumbai, Paramjit Dahiya, on Tuesday added that the Investigation Officer in the Saif Ali Khan Knife attack case was changed due to administrative reasons, aiming to shut down any rumours.

“Whatever fingerprints were collected from the crime scene, we have not received any official report (from CID) of the same as of this date... We have found much oral, physical, and technical evidence against the accused,” Dahiya said on Tuesday.

“Statements of all the witnesses have been recorded and statements of all indirect witnesses will be taken soon,” Dahiya informed.

Saif Ali Khan was stabbed in five places - back, wrist, neck, shoulder, and elbow - in an apparent burglary at his home in Mumbai in the early hours of January 16 and was taken to Lilavati Hospital in an autorickshaw by his friend.

Saif Ali Khan attack case: Mumbai Police denies claim on fingerprint mismatch

Amid reports that the 19 sets of fingerprints collected from the actor's home do not match the fingerprints of the accused, Shariful Islam, the Mumbai Police has categorically denied the claim.

“The CCTV footage shows that the victim (Saif Ali Khan) reached Lilavati Hospital by 2:47 am... We did not receive a call from Saif Ali Khan personally,” Dahiya stated, adding, “We got this information (about the attack) from the hospital.”

Reiterating previous reports of how Shariful Islam, an alleged Bangladeshi national, immigrated illegally to India, Dahiya said, “The accused had stayed in Kolkata for a few days after coming from Bangladesh. Our team had gone to Kolkata to record the statements of everyone who had met or helped the accused.”

In another development, the Mumbai Police has recorded the statement of a West Bengal-based woman, whose Aadhar Card was used by the accused, Sariful Islam, to buy a sim card.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Monday said that confusion should not be created regarding the case.