In a significant development in the Saif Ali Khan attack case, the two nannies of the Bollywood actor’s son Jehangir have identified the arrested Bangladeshi national as the attacker during a Test Identification Parade (TIP) on Wednesday. The nannies also sustained injuries during the failed robbery attempt at the actor’s Bandra residence on January 16.
Police sources said Elliamma Philip, one of the nannies, along with another nanny on Wednesday identified arrested accused Mohamed Shariful Islam Fakir (30) as the intruder who attacked the actor, in the TIP conducted at the Arthur Road Jail. The procedure was duly completed in the presence of a tehsildar and five independent panchas, in which Philip was asked to identify the accused, who was made to stand in a row along with nine other persons with similar looks.
Philip was the first in the actor’s household to spot the intruder at Jehangir’s washroom on January 16.
As per the FIR, the attacker, who was carrying a knife and a stick, during an argument with Philip demanded “(Rs) one crore”. Later, he had a scuffle with Philip. Seeing this, the other nannies screamed for help, following which the actor, who was on the 12th-floor room of their duplex home, came down and confronted the robber. During a brief confrontation, the robber attacked the actor six times. Later, others in the house managed to lock the robber inside Jahangir’s room and went to the 12th floor. But as the door couldn’t be locked, the robber later managed to flee.
While an injured Khan was rushed to Lilavati hospital, police launched a massive manhunt and, three days later, Fakir was arrested from a Thane labour camp.
As Philip and the other nannies witnessed the attack, the TIP parade would strengthen the police case, a police source said. However, a lawyer said that the TIP procedure holds no value in this case as the photo of the accused was already out in the media and newspapers reports.
Earlier, the police had said the facial recognition test report they received from the forensic laboratory also confirmed that Fakir was the same person as the images of the robber captured in multiple CCTV cameras, including in Khan’s building Satguru Sharan.
A senior police officer had earlier said that besides the facial recognition test report, they have strong technical evidence, including CCTV footage, mobile phone location, and the IPDR (internet protocol details report) to prove the accused’s role and presence in the area at the time of the incident.
Police claimed to have gathered ample oral, physical and technical evidence. The police have also claimed they are yet to receive the reports of many other samples collected from the spot and sent to the forensic lab. The accused Bangladeshi man is currently lodged at the Arthur Road Central Jail.
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