Shafiqul Islam, the accused in the Saif Ali Khan attack case in Bollywood, was remanded to 5-day police custody by a court in Bandra, Mumbai. He will remain under police custody till January 24. This happened after the Mumbai Police, investigating the case, sought his custody for 14 days. Shafiqul Islam (30) was arrested from Thane district on Sunday in the wee hours.
The Mumbai Police told the court that Islam was a Bangladeshi national and there was a need to find the motive behind the heinous crime. Police also told the Court they needed to determine if an international conspiracy was linked to the case.
Accepting the police’s contention after perusing documents on record, the Court said the prosecution’s submission of international conspiracy “cannot be said to be impossible.”
While passing the order, Bandra Holiday Court observed that the demand for the accused’s police custody is justified as “it is an early stage of the investigation.”
The Court ruled, “We are satisfied by the demand of Mumbai Police. The accused entered the residence of a celebrity and attacked him. The police need to recover the clothes he wore that day. Hence, custodial interrogation is required. The police also need to recover the knife that was used by the accused. The learned defense council has said that no notice was given to the accused U/S43A of the BNS.”
The court added, “After considering the submissions of the defense and the prosecution, I find they are well-founded allegations. The investigation is at an early stage. The accused was arrested earlier today. The police, therefore, are justified in asking for a sufficient period for an investigation.”
Earlier in the day, Mumbai Police identified the attacker as Mohammad Shariful Islam Shehzad, a Bangladeshi national who is accused of entering India illegally and changing his name. Shafiqul Islam was apprehended in the Labour Camp area of adjoining Thane city.
According to a preliminary probe, he had entered the Bollywood star’s home, in Satguru Sharan building in Bandra, in the early hours of January 16 with the intention of robbery, police said while addressing a press conference earlier in the day.
Police revealed he had been working as housekeeping staff at Ricky’s bar in Thane and used different names to avoid detection.
