Man detained in Saif attack case seeks justice after life ruined by police action

Akash Kanojia, wrongly detained in the Saif Ali Khan attack case, claims his life was destroyed by Mumbai police, leaving him jobless and facing family shame

Mumbai: A man who was detained in Durg in Chhattisgarh as a suspect in the January 16 Saif Ali Khan attack case said on Sunday that his life is in complete disarray following police action, leaving him without a job, a snub from his prospective bride and family facing ignominy.

Akash Kanojia (31), a driver, was detained from Mumbai Lokmanya Tilak Terminus-Kolkata Shalimar Jnaneshwari Express at Durg station by the Railway Protection Force on January 18 after a tip off from Mumbai police.

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On the morning of January 19, Mumbai police arrested Bangladeshi national Shariful Islam Shehzad Mohammad Rohilla Amin Fakir alias Vijay Das from neighbouring Thane, after which the Durg RPF allowed Kanojia to go leave.

Saif Ali Khan (54) was stabbed repeatedly by an intruder during a robbery attempt at his 12th floor residence in Satguru Sharan in Mumbai’s Bandra area in the early hours of January 16.

He underwent surgery and was later discharged. “My family was left shocked and in tears after media started showing my pictures and claimed I was the main suspect in the case. One mistake of the Mumbai police ruined my life. They failed to notice I had a moustache and the person in the CCTV grab from the actor’s building did not,” Kanojia siad.

“After the incident, I had got a call from police who asked me where I was. The call was disconnected after I told them I was at home. I was travelling to meet my prospective bride when I was detained at Durg and then taken to Raipur. The Mumbai police team that reached there assaulted me as well,” he claimed.

Kanojia said after being released, his mother asked him to come home, but his life started unravelling from there on.

“When I called my employer, he asked me not to report to work. He refused to listen to my explanation. My grandmother then told me the family of my prospective bride had refused to go ahead with marriage talks following my detention,” he said.

Kanojia claimed his brother died after prolonged medical treatment, which had forced his family to sell their Virar home and shift to a chawl in Cuffe Parade.

“I have two cases against my name in Cuffe Parade and one at Gurgaon. But it doesn’t mean I can be pulled up as a suspect in such a manner and then be left in the lurch. I plan to stand outside Saif Ai Khan’s building and seek a job as I have lost everything because of what happened to him,” Kanojia said.

Kanojia said it was divine intervention that Shariful was caught within hours of him being detained at Durg railway station. “Or else, who knows, I may have been shown as the accused in the case. I now want justice,” he said.