Saif Ali Khan attack case: Fingerprint samples still with CID, say Cops

Crime Branch officials at Saif Ali Khan’s Bandra residence following the attack on January 16. Pic/Anurag Ahire; (Inset) Shariful Islam, immediately after his arrest at Hiranandani Estate, Thane, early on January 19. Pic/Diwakar Sharma

Forty-eight hours after mid-day reported that the fingerprints of Shariful Islam, arrested in connection with the attack on Saif Ali Khan, did not match the initial 19 samples sent to the fingerprint bureau of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), the Mumbai police told media that the samples had indeed been sent to the CID, though no reports had come yet.

Sources have stated that, given the number of people present at the crime scene, there is a possibility of overlapping fingerprints, with some matching and others not. Officials have also confirmed that they have collected over 200 samples from the crime scene so far.

Saif Ali Khan emerges from Lilavati Hospital on the evening of January 21, five days after he was attacked. Pic/Satej Shinde; (right) Satguru Sharan, the residence of Saif Ali Khan, in Bandra West. Pic/Anurag Ahire

The clarification came after Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis directed Mumbai Commissioner of Police Vivek Phansalkar to address the media. Initially, it was expected that Phansalkar would clear the air on key issues, including the mismatch between the accused captured on CCTV and the individual arrested. However, on Wednesday, it was decided that Additional Commissioner (West Region) Paramjit Singh Dahiya and DCP (Zone IX) Dixit Gedam would address the media instead.

During the press briefing, Dahiya stated, "This is a clue-based investigation being conducted by the DCP Zone IX team with assistance from the Crime Branch. So far, we have gathered substantial evidence against the accused, and further investigation is ongoing."

‘Results awaited'

Questioned about the fingerprint mismatch, Dahiya said, "We have not received any reports as of now." He confirmed that fingerprint samples were sent to the CID but clarified that results were still awaited. He added that they are considering conducting a facial recognition test on the accused. When reporters questioned whether this indicated uncertainty about the accused's identity, he responded, "He is the same accused, and we have oral, physical and technical evidence against him. Doing facial recognition and fingerprint analysis are part of the process."

mid-day had reported on Sunday that Shariful Islam's fingerprints did not match with the 19 samples sent to the CID, citing that all reports came back negative. Senior officers of Mumbai Police initially denied sending samples to the CID, claiming the CID had no role in the investigation. However, sources now suggest multiple samples were collected from the crime scene due to the presence of 10-12 individuals, including Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor.

‘Additional proof'

A senior officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, stated, "Around 200 fingerprints were recovered from the scene, making it likely that some will match and others won't. While fingerprints are primary evidence, we have gathered additional proof linking the accused to the attack."

The police continue to face questions about the discrepancies in the case, including the mismatch between CCTV footage and the arrested individual, as investigations progress.