Bangladeshi or Indian, angle of international conspiracy… heated debate in court, police gets custody of Saif’s attacker

Magistrate court sent Saif Ali Khan’s attacker to five days police custody. Photo-Channel24india.com

The investigating officer argued before the magistrate that he is a Bangladeshi and it is necessary to find out how he managed to come to India without valid documents. The knife broke into three pieces in the attack, one was recovered from Saif Ali Khan’s body, one from the crime scene, the third piece is with the accused and we have to recover it as evidence. Therefore, the police wants 14 days of custody of the accused.
Mumbai : The accused who attacked Saif Ali Khan was produced by Mumbai Police in the Magistrate Court on Sunday January 19, 2025 afternoon . The magistrate asked the accused his name and asked if he had any complaint. When the police removed the head cover of the accused, he told the magistrate his name as Mohammad Shariful Islam Shahzad. The prosecution demanded 14 days of police custody of the accused from the magistrate, which was opposed by the defense. After hearing the arguments of both the sides, the magistrate sent the accused to 5 days of police custody. There was a heated debate between the prosecution and the defense in the magistrate court regarding the custody of the accused. The magistrate asked if there was a lawyer to represent the accused, then an advocate came forward and accused the police of not allowing him to talk to the accused. Another lawyer came forward and told the magistrate that he was from Legal Aid and would represent the accused. The magistrate said – both of you can represent the accused, to which both the lawyers agreed.

The Mumbai Police investigating officer told the magistrate – The accused illegally entered Saif Ali Khan’s house and attacked the actor and two others with a knife. In this attack, Saif was stabbed 6 times and he suffered serious injuries. The police will have to find out how he entered the actor’s house and for what reasons. Is anyone else involved in this incident? The investigating officer argued before the magistrate that he is a Bangladeshi and it is necessary to find out how he managed to come to India without valid documents. The knife broke into three pieces in the attack, one was recovered from Saif Ali Khan’s body, one from the crime scene, the third piece is with the accused and we have to recover it as evidence. That’s why the police wants 14 days of custody of the accused.

A lawyer argued in defense of the accused – he is not a Bangladeshi but an Indian citizen. He lives here. The lawyer said in his argument, ‘There is no need for the police to give custody of the accused. Just because the victim is Saif Ali Khan, this matter has been blown out of proportion. Otherwise it is just a normal case. There is no need for custody. The police has not told in the remand why they want the custody of the accused. He is not a habitual criminal and is a 30-year-old youth. The police is making him a scapegoat, he did not know that the house he was entering belonged to Saif Ali Khan.’

The lawyer representing the Mumbai Police said in the Magistrate Court – the victim is a celebrity. But this case is not limited to this only. It is still under preliminary investigation. Saif Ali Khan has suffered serious injuries. The accused knows which areas of Mumbai celebrities live in and which areas they do not. He had asked for money, what was his intention. The knife used in the attack is broken into three parts, so we have to recover the third part as it will have blood marks. The accused’s clothes will also have to be seized, which may have blood stains of the victim. It will have to be found out who helped him in this case. A case will also be registered against him under the Passport Act. Therefore, the police will need the custody of the accused.

After hearing the arguments of both the sides, the magistrate said – I am satisfied with the grounds given by the police for the arrest of the accused. The accused is a citizen of Bangladesh, so the suspicion of international conspiracy in the case cannot be ruled out. Therefore, the investigating officer has to be given enough time. I am giving 5 days custody of the accused to the police. After hearing the arguments of the prosecution and looking at the material placed on record, I found that there are well-founded allegations against the accused for non-bailable offences. The investigation is at a preliminary stage, moreover the accused has been arrested today, so the police’s grounds for seeking remand for a period sufficient for investigation are justified. The defence counsel’s contention that the arrest of the accused was illegal appears to be without any solid reason. Section 109 of the BNS (attempt to murder) carries a punishment of more than 7 years and thus the police are not bound to serve a notice of arrest to the accused. Hence illegal arrest is not an issue here.