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Congress questions Mumbai Police's probe into Saif Ali Khan attack: ‘…same man?’
Congress leader Nana Patole demanded clarification on whether the arrested suspect was indeed the same person seen in the CCTV camera footage.
The Mumbai Police's probe into the recent attack on Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan has come under scrutiny, with Congress raising doubts about whether the individual arrested is the same person captured in the CCTV camera footage of the incident.
On Friday, Congress leader Nana Patole questioned the credibility of the investigation and called for clarity on whether the arrested suspect matches the person seen in the video evidence.
“Instead of raising Hindu-Muslim angle in law and order situations, police must catch the real culprit. There are reports about the person caught on CCTV camera and the one arrested (in the Saif attack case) not being the same person," Patole said, referring to Maharashtra minister Nitish Rane's remark on Saif.
“Earlier police had detained some lookalikes and released them. It is sad that cine artists, sarpanch, and common citizens are not safe,” Patole was quoted as saying by PTI.
Arrested accused's father's statement raises questions
The allegations surfaced after the arrested accused, Shariful Islam Shehzad Mohammad Rohilla Amin Fakir's father, said the person shown in the CCTV camera footage was unlikely to be his son.
Speaking to a Bengali news channel, Shariful's father revealed that his son had crossed into India illegally due to political turmoil in Bangladesh, but denied reports that Shariful was a wrestler, as some media outlets had claimed.
Also Read | ‘Not criminals’: Saif Ali Khan attacker's father to approach Bangladesh govt?
He also cast doubt on the police's identification of the suspect, claiming that the individual shown in the CCTV camera footage did not resemble his son.
Shariful Islam Shehzad Mohammad Rohilla Amin Fakir, a Bangladeshi national, was arrested by the police last week for allegedly intruding into Saif's Bandra residence with the intention of theft and attacking the actor in the process.
Congress questions safety of Mumbaikers
Patole further lamented that if an actor like Saif Ali Khan can be attacked in the middle of the night in Bandra, which is considered one of Mumbai’s safer areas, it raises serious questions about the safety of not just celebrities but the common people as well.
The Congress leader also slammed the ruling BJP for its handling of other high-profile cases, such as the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput.
"The BJP government had ordered a CBI inquiry into the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput, but to this day, the CBI has not submitted a report. The BJP has failed to deliver justice for Hindu Sushant," Patole said.
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