Md Ruhul Amin Fakir, father of Mohammed Shariful Islam, the man accused in the recent attack on Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan, spoke exclusively with IANS on Thursday. He defended his son and called into question the allegations. Mr Fakir insisted his son had been wrongfully implicated in the incident.
According to Mr Fakir, the images from CCTV footage showing a suspect with long hair do not match his son’s usual appearance. “From what is shown in the CCTV… my son never keeps his hair long. I believe my son is being framed,” Mr Fakir asserted, denying any connection between his son’s typical appearance and the person seen in the footage.
Shariful, who is from Bangladesh, had moved to India due to the political unrest in his home country.
To a question from IANS, Mr Fakir explained: “He left Bangladesh and came to India for one reason — the political unrest in Bangladesh… He was working where he received a salary, and his employer even rewarded him…”
Mr Fakir went on to describe his son’s life in India, painting a picture of a man simply trying to make a living in a foreign country.
“The salary in Mumbai’s hotels is higher than in West Bengal. The hotels there are quite large, and the salary is also higher,” Mr Fakir noted, suggesting that Shariful moved to Mumbai for better job prospects in the hospitality industry.
Despite the gravity of the accusations against his son, Fakir insists that he hasn’t received any communication from the police.
Asked if the local police had contacted him, he said: “No, nothing like that has happened. No one has come from anywhere. We don’t know anyone in India. We have no support in India.”
Mr Fakir reflected on his last conversation with Shariful, recalling their regular exchanges.
“My last conversation with my son was on a Friday evening,” he said. “He (Shariful) used to get his salary after the 10th of every month… After that, he would talk to me.”
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)