Saif Ali Khan attack: Mumbai police's false arrest costs man job, marriage

A wrongful arrest turned Akash Kunojia's life upside down when Mumbai police mistakenly linked him to an attack on Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan.

The incident, which took place on January 18, created chaos in the wrongly accused suspect’s life, despite him having no involvement in the crime.

Akash, who works as a driver for a tour company in Mumbai, was travelling to Bilaspur to visit his ailing grandmother and meet the family of a girl he was interested in marrying. However, his journey took a dramatic turn when railway protection officers detained him at the station.

Despite explaining to the police that he had no connection to the alleged attack on Khan, Akash’s photo was widely circulated on television and social media, wrongly branding him as the attacker.

“I told the police I wasn’t involved in any attack. I even suggested they check CCTV footage near my house, but they ignored me. Instead, they spread my picture, claiming I was the attacker,” he shared.

Akash was released on January 19 after Mumbai police captured Mohammad Sharif Islam Shehzad, who was identified as the real attacker.

The arrest caused serious damage as Akash lost his job because his employer withdrew amid the media frenzy surrounding the case.

“When I tried explaining to my office, they refused to listen and told me not to come back. I lost my job because of this mistake,” he explained.

Adding to Akash's pain, his potential marriage also ended. The girl's family, who had once been interested, turned him down after his wrongful arrest.

“After everything was finally getting better in my life, this incident turned everything upside down,” he lamented.

He pointed out a simple detail that police missed, “I have a moustache, while the person shown in the CCTV footage from Saif Ali Khan’s house didn’t. Yet, I had to go through all of this.”

Akash has now requested that all images portraying him as the alleged attacker be removed from the internet to avoid further complications in his life.

Earlier, one week after getting stabbed six times by an intruder in his Mumbai home, Bollywood star Saif Ali Khan has recorded his statement to the police, revealing crucial details of what happened on that fateful night. 

According to Indian media, Saif Ali Khan provided his statement on Thursday, seven days after the January 16 incident. 

"On the night of January 16, Kareena Kapoor and I were in the bedroom of our apartment on the 11th floor when we heard the screams of our younger son Jahangir's nanny," Saif told the police. 

He added, "On hearing the screams, Kareena and I rushed to our son's room, where the attacker was present. The nanny was terrified and screaming, while my son was crying."