Saif Ali Khan stabbing case: Cops to conduct attacker's facial recognition; custody extended till January 29

Khan's attacker, arrested from adjoining Thane city, is a Bangladeshi who changed his name to Vijay Das after illegally entering India last year, police earlier said.

Mumbai: Mumbai police on Friday informed a court here that it has to conduct facial recognition of the Bangladeshi man, arrested for allegedly stabbing Saif Ali Khan last week, to ascertain if he was the person seen in the CCTV footage from the actor's building in Bandra.

The police produced the accused, Shareeful Islam Shehzad Mohammad Rohilla Amin Fakir (30), before a magistrate's court, which extended his police custody till January 29.

Fakir was arrested on January 19 for allegedly breaking into the Bollywood star's residence with the intention of theft and stabbing him multiple times.

The police sought further custody of Fakir, citing that while substantial progress has been made in the probe, the accused has to be interrogated further on crucial aspects of the case.

The police, represented by the public prosecutors K S Patil and Prasad Joshi, argued that the accused's facial recognition needs to be done to ascertain that he was the person seen in the CCTV footage recovered from the actor's building.

This comes after claims made by the accused man's father that the person seen in the CCTV footage was not his son. The father had alleged his son was arrested based on some similarities and was implicated in the case.

Judicial magistrate K C Rajput extended Fakir's remand till January 29, noting that further custody of the accused was necessary considering the nature of the offence and the progress done in the probe.

The police told the court that it also needs to match Fakir's footprints to the ones found Khan's residence and that the shoes Fakir wore at the time of the attack have not been recovered yet.

They also stated that the missing part of the knife used in the crime was yet to be recovered, and the accused was not cooperating with the investigation.

The court was informed that the accused's Bangladeshi driving licence has been recovered, which confirms that he hails from the neighbouring country.

The prosecution submitted that they needed to find the person who helped Fakir make fake Aadhaar and PAN cards for staying in India in the name of Vijay Das.

Fakir's counsels, Dinesh Prajapati and Sandeep Sherkahne, opposed the police's plea and raised doubt over the credibility of the incident.

They argued that the alleged victim (Khan) had enough time but did not call the police for help.

They said the remand of the accused was not required to recover the material, as mentioned by the police. Hence, he should be remanded to judicial custody.

The 54-year-old actor was repeatedly stabbed by a knife-wielding intruder inside his 12th-floor apartment in upscale Bandra in the early hours of January 16.

Khan was admitted to Lilavati Hospital, where he underwent two surgeries following stab injuries, including on his neck and near the spine. He was discharged from the private hospital on January 21.