Amid high drama, Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan was arrested Wednesday evening with two others for assaulting an NRI businessman. All three were later released on bail after being interrogated, police said.
Police detained Saif and his friends Bilal Amrohi and actress Amrita Arora’s husband Shakeel Ladak on the Marine Drive police station, and later brought them to the Colaba police station. The interrogation of the trio – in regards to the incident early Wednesday on the Taj Mahal Hotel wherein Saif is accused of assaulting South African NRI businessman Iqbal Sharma – lasted one hour.
They were formally arrested after which given bail on personal bonds of Rs.3,000 each.
According to sources, Shakeel Ladak is alleged to have hit Sharma’s father-in-law within the scuffle.
Shakeel and Bilal’s lawyer Mahesh Vaswani told IANS: “Iqbal and his group of individuals were passing comments at the girls (who were a part of Saif’s group), and that started the incident.â€
On his part, Saif said he had only “defended†himself after being “assaultedâ€.
“There was an unpleasant incident last night (Tuesday) where my friends and the women with us were abused and that i was assaulted. I USED TO BE hit and that i defended myself,†Saif said in a statement.
“I has been to the police station to reply to the necessities of law as I'M a law abiding citizen. I'VE also filed a complaint about what happened last night and i'm confident justice could be done,†he added.
A battery of top cops were looking ahead to the actor on the Colaba police station, besides the media and scores of fans.
In the afternoon, police sent a team to Saif’s house and after failing to find him there, had ordered him to look before them as early as possible.
Saif was virtually declared ‘wanted’ when he went incommunicado after assaulting Sharma, who's also the director general and CEO of the Trade, Industry & Investments of South Africa.
The actor was charged under various sections of the Indian Penal Code for allegedly assaulting Sharma within the Taj Mahal Hotel around 1 a.m. Wednesday morning. Police said a case of assault were registered on the Colaba police station.
Police also are questioning staff on the hotel and examining the CCTV footage.
Legal experts that the offences for which Saif was booked are bailable.
Sharma told TimesNow television that Saif called him an “idiot†for complaining concerning the actor’s loud conduct at a cafe within the Taj Mahal Hotel.
He said he and his family had requested the restaurant manager to invite Saif and his friends, which included Kareena, Amrita Arora and Malaika Arora Khan, to maintain their voices down.
Sharma said he and his family decided to transport to a different a part of the restaurant downstairs.
“As we were taking place the stairs, Saif was coming up, probably from the bathroom. As he passed me, he called me an idiot and asked ‘Do you understand who I am?’â€
Sharma said the actor first pushed him after which assaulted his father-in-law who fell at the stairs and bruised his jaw.
“It was an uncivilized approach to behave in a public space,†Sharma said, adding that he intended to pursue the problem legally.
A police officer confirmed that Sharma and his guests had objected to the noise created by Saif and his friends.
The incident occurred shortly after midnight Tuesday.
Saif have been fascinated about public spats earlier too, including some photojournalists in Patiala in September 2008.
The actor has won the Padma Shri award, which failed to go down well with the Bishnoi community in Rajasthan as he's accused of killing a blackbuck — an animal the Bishnois hold sacred. Saif was charged with poaching because the blackbuck is at the endangered list. – IANS
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