Saif Ali Khan stabbing case: Mumbai court grants police 5-day custody of accused Bangladeshi national
New Delhi: A Mumbai court today granted the police five-day custody of Shariful Islam Shehzad, accused of breaking into actor Saif Ali Khan's residence and injuring him and his staff during a burglary attempt in the early hours of Thursday, media reports said.
The accused, identified as a Bangladeshi national, was arrested early this morning in Thane after being tracked down by the police.
According to the authorities, Shariful illegally entered India and had been living in Mumbai under the false identity of Bijoy Das for several months.
Following his arrest, Shariful was presented in court.
The police told the court that he had entered the country unlawfully and sought to investigate individuals who might have assisted him.
The court is also examining the accused's connections in Mumbai.
The police sought a 14-day remand, revealing that the 54-year-old actor sustained six stab wounds during the attack, including one near his spine.
They added that the knife used in the assault broke into three pieces, with one shard recovered from Khan's body while another remains missing.
Police further told the court that they suspect Shariful hid his blood-stained clothes after the fight, emphasizing the need to recover them for matching blood samples.
The prosecution stated that Shariful was aware of the high-security Bandra neighbourhood where the actor resides with his family and alleged that he executed the break-in according to a plan.
Shariful's lawyer, Dinesh Prajapati, contested the allegations, claiming that no evidence was recovered from his client and dismissing the accusations as baseless.
He argued that Shariful was being scapegoated due to the high-profile nature of the case, adding, "They have not produced any document to prove he is a Bangladeshi national."