The father of Shariful Islam, the man arrested in connection with the stabbing of actor Saif Ali Khan, has denied that his son is the attacker, claiming that the images circulated from the CCTV footage do not resemble him. Md Ruhul Amin Fakir, Shariful’s father, stated that after closely examining both the picture from the CCTV at Saif Ali Khan’s building and the one taken after his son’s arrest, he believes the two are entirely different.
The initial CCTV image, taken from Saif Ali Khan's building in Bandra, shows the attacker fleeing down the stairs after the stabbing. Fakir, speaking to a media outlet, emphasized that the two images don’t match and firmly asserted that the person in the footage is not his son. Shariful Islam was arrested on January 19, three days after the incident, in Thane, Maharashtra. He is currently in police custody, with investigators suggesting that his original intention was to commit a robbery at a wealthy individual’s home before fleeing to Bangladesh with stolen goods.
As doubts about the identity of the attacker circulate, Maharashtra BJP leader and minister Nitesh Rane also raised concerns about the incident. Rane questioned the authenticity of the attack, casting doubt on whether Saif Ali Khan had actually been assaulted or was merely “acting” the part when leaving the hospital.