‘Awaiting report’: Cops amid fingerprint mismatch claims

The fingerprints bureau, run by the state Criminal Investigation Department, will submit a report shortly.

The fingerprint assessment in the Saif Ali Khan stabbing case is awaited, the Mumbai police said on Sunday after media reports emerged that the prints found at the actor’s house did not match those of the arrested main accused Shariful Islam Fakir.

Shariful Islam Shehzad Mohammad, the 30-year-old Bangladeshi nationalist was arrested for allegedly stabbing actor Saif Ali Khan case early morning in Thane district. Mumbai, India. Jan 24, 2025. (Photo by Raju Shinde/HT Photo) (HT Photo)

The fingerprints bureau, run by the state Criminal Investigation Department (CID), will submit a report shortly, said Dikshit Gedam, deputy commissioner of police, zone 9.

“The fingerprint department is yet to submit their report to the Bandra police. We’ll wait for the report before commenting further,” Gedam said. A senior officer from the state CID confirmed that the report had not been submitted.

Another senior IPS (Indian Police Service) officer said claims of a fingerprint mismatch were premature, saying that an “absolutely genuine detection of all the evidence” was in process.

Earlier on Sunday, Mid-Day newspaper and NDTV reported that the fingerprints collected from actor’s residence did not match those of the accused. The CID’s system-generated report confirmed the mismatch, prompting the Mumbai police to submit additional samples for further examination, NDTV reported.

Bollywood star Khan was attacked in the wee hours on January 16 by an intruder, later identified by the police as Mohd Shariful Islam Shehzad Fakir, a 30-year-old Bangladeshi national, who entered the house with the intent to commit theft. After a violent confrontation with the accused, Khan sustained six stab wounds to his thoracic spine and other body parts. He was rushed to Lilavati Hospital for immediate treatment following the attack.

According to the first information report filed by an injured member of the Khans’ domestic staff, Elyimma Philips, known in the house as Lima, she spotted an intruder lurking in an alcove outside one of the bathrooms of the apartment between 2.30am and 3am. When she tried to raise the alarm, the intruder attacked her and slashed her hand with the knife he was carrying. Khan, who was in the house with his two sons, Taimur and Jeh, woke up hearing the help’s scream and tried to intervene and save her. In the scuffle that followed, the intruder stabbed him multiple times, which left him bleeding on the floor.

On Wednesday, Mumbai police found several fingerprints of the accused at the actor’s residence in Bandra, including the stairs of the building, the door of the toilet, and the door handle of Jeh’s room.

Dr Nitin Dange, the neurosurgeon who carried out the emergency operation on Khan, told the media on January 16: “Surgery was performed to remove the embedded knife part and repair leaking spinal fluid. Two other deep wounds on his left hand and neck were repaired by a team of plastic surgeons.” Lilavati COO Dr Uttamani said the actor underwent a five-hour-long surgery.

The fingerprint experts who visited the actor’s house after the incident collected around 200 fingerprints from the 11th floor residence in Satguru Sharan building in Bandra (West) apart from the staircase, railing, and a passage area in the basement. The accused was arrested on January 19 and is currently in police custody till January 29 for further probe.