Saif stabbing—Fingerprints found at actor's home don't match accused: Report
What's the story
In a major twist in the Saif Ali Khan attack case, the fingerprints lifted from the actor's home reportedly do not match those of Shariful Islam Shehzad, the Bangladeshi national arrested for allegedly stabbing Khan.
The State Criminal Investigation Department (CID) submitted negative reports on Shehzad's fingerprint samples, reported Mid-Day.
Khan was stabbed at his Bandra residence on January 16.
Investigation details
Arrest after a 3-day manhunt and 19 mismatched fingerprints
Shehzad was arrested from Thane after a three-day-long manhunt by the Mumbai Police and Crime Branch, with around 40 teams.
19 fingerprint samples were reportedly lifted from the crime scene at Khan's residence, none of which allegedly matched Shehzad's fingerprints.
After the brutal attack, Khan underwent a six-hour-long surgery at Mumbai's Lilavati Hospital.
Case progression
Fingerprint analysis and transfer of case details
Shehzad's fingerprints were sent to the CID's fingerprint bureau for analysis.
A system-generated report confirmed none of the 19 crime scene fingerprints matched Shehzad's.
This report was ultimately forwarded to the CID Superintendent in Pune on Friday.
The arrest was made by a team from East Region of Mumbai Police, led by DCP Navnath Dhavale of Zone 6, who reportedly had "limited information" about the case as it was initially handled by the Zone 9 team.
Additional suspects
Previous detentions and father's claim of misidentification
Before Shehzad's arrest, Mumbai Police had detained and questioned another person who was later cleared of involvement in the case.
A third suspect, Aakash Kanojia (32-33), was detained in Chhattisgarh by the Raipur Railway Protection Force (RPF) while traveling on the Jnaneswari Express train. He was later handed over to Mumbai Police.
Meanwhile, Shehzad's father Md Ruhul Amin Fakir claimed the CCTV footage of the attacker doesn't match his son's face.