Akash Kanojia, 31, who was briefly detained in Chhattisgarh earlier this month as a suspect in the Saif Ali Khan case, expressed frustration over his photograph being widely circulated despite having no connection to the crime.
In an interview with NDTV, Kanojia, “Why was my photo made viral? I want justice,” he said, warning that he would move court if the images were not taken down from various online platforms.
“I was defamed so much. It is a question of someone’s life. I was not wrong. I had not committed any crime. Then why was my photo made viral? I am not capable of committing such crimes,” he said.
Kanojia claimed that the police action severely impacted his life. He said he lost his job as a driver and a marriage proposal and spoke about the disgrace his family endured, which left him with an “unbearable, dangerous feeling.”
Questioning the police’s approach, he wondered if they would have acted the same way had a high-profile individual been in his place. “Whatever happened to me should not happen to anyone else. I am a poor man, and that’s why I had to see such days. What if there was a VIP or a millionaire’s son in my place, what would they (police) have done? Such things happened to me today, but they should not happen to anyone tomorrow. After such treatment, that dangerous feeling you get is unbearable,” he said.
When was he detained?
On January 18, Kanojia was detained by the Railway Protection Force (RPF) at Chhattisgarh’s Durg station while travelling on the Mumbai Lokmanya Tilak Terminus-Kolkata Shalimar Jnaneswari Express. His detention followed a tip-off from Mumbai Police, coming two days after an intruder stabbed Saif Ali Khan at his Bandra residence.
He was released the next day, with Mumbai Police officials clarifying that he was only a suspect.
Recalling the incident, Kanojia described how he was approached by RPF personnel while on the train. “They showed me my photograph. I told him I am Akash Kanojia. They asked me to get off the train. When I asked them why, they said the Mumbai Police have asked them to locate me. Since I knew that the RPF was doing its duty, I agreed to go with them,” he said.
Kanojia urged police to take him to Saif Ali Khan
Kanojia said he had urged the police to take him to the actor so he could prove his innocence. “I said that if he (Saif Ali Khan) says that it was me who attacked him, then the police can blame me for all the crimes that took place in Mumbai that day. Why should I accept something that I have not done? After this, I was allowed to go home,” he said.
His father, Kailash Kanojia, had earlier criticised the police, accusing them of “ruining his son’s life.”
Addressing reporters, Mumbai Police sub-inspector Pradeep Fude defended the police’s actions, stating, “We can detain anyone for inquiry. We had been insisting he was just a suspect. There has been no mistake on our part. We had told the media that we would share authentic details, but some went ahead and declared him an accused.”
Latest developments in Saif’s stabbing case
The Bandra police received a forensic report on Friday confirming that Sharfiful Islam Shehzad Fakir is the suspect who allegedly attacked actor Saif Ali Khan after breaking into his Bandra residence to rob valuables.
According to the police, facial recognition in the forensic report verified that the arrested 30-year-old Bangladeshi national is the same person seen in CCTV footage from Satguru Sharan building, where the actor lived.
On January 16, Saif Ali Khan sustained severe injuries after being stabbed six times, allegedly by Islam, during a failed burglary attempt at his 12th-floor apartment in the upscale Bandra building.
Multiple teams from the police and crime branch analyzed various CCTV footage and followed several leads to identify and locate the suspect.
On January 19, police arrested Sariful Islam, a Bangladeshi national, near Hiranandani Estate in Kasarvadavali, Thane, around 35 km from Khan’s residence. He was later placed in police custody.
However, Islam’s father claimed his son was being framed for reasons unknown to him.