Mumbai:
The 31-year-old man who was detained in Chhattisgarh as a suspect in the Saif Ali Khan case earlier this month said the police action has cost him his job and a marriage proposal, brought immense disrepute to his family, and left him with an “unbearable dangerous feeling”.
In an exclusive interview to NDTV, Akash Kanojia, who was briefly detained and interrogated, said his photograph was widely circulated despite having no involvement in the crime. “Why was my photo made viral? I want justice,” he said, threatening to move court if his photograph was not brought down by all those who shared it across various online platforms.
He also sought to know if police would have acted in a similar way had a VIP or a millionaire’s son been a suspect in the case.
On January 18, Mr Kanojia was detained from Mumbai Lokmanya Tilak Terminus-Kolkata Shalimar Jnaneswari Express at Chhattisgarh’s Durg station by the Railway Protection Force (RPF) after a tip off from Mumbai police, two days after Mr Khan was stabbed by an intruder at his residence in Bandra.
He was released a day later, with Mumbai Police officials saying he was just a suspect. Days later and after over 70 hours of an intense manhunt, a 30-year-old man, who was later identified as a Bangladeshi national, was arrested in connection with the attack.
Mr Kanojia, however, said the police action had severe repercussions and left him and his family traumatised.
He said he lost his job as a driver. He said his marriage was fixed but the prospective bride’s family called it off after he was detained in the case. He added that his relatives and friends are hesitant to meet or maintain ties with him and his family.
“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.
“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 added.
He requested all those who circulated his photograph across platforms to delete it. “Otherwise there is only one last stop – court. I’ll have to knock on the court’s door,” he said.
Mr Kanojia recalled the events that led to his detention. He said he was travelling on the Mumbai Lokmanya Tilak Terminus-Kolkata Shalimar Jnaneshwari Express when he was cornered by the RPF men. “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.
“After this, the RPF took me with them. They told me that they would not ask me anything or initiate any action against me. They asked if I was just running away? I asked them why would I run? I told them that if they think I have done something wrong, then they should call the Mumbai cops. As the cops came, I was interrogated. I told them I did not commit the crime,” he said.
Mr Kanojia said he asked the cops to take him to the actor to verify if he had carried out the attack. “I said that if he (Mr 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.
Mr Kanojia’s father, Kailash, earlier criticised the cops for “ruining my son’s life”.
“The police detained my son without verifying his identity. This mistake has ruined his life. Now, due to the mental trauma, Akash is unable to focus on work or communicate with his family. He has become withdrawn, doesn’t talk properly, and has lost all motivation,” he told PTI.
“People are saying there is no resemblance between my son and the actual accused. He lost his job and his marriage was called off. Who is responsible? The behaviour of the police has destroyed Akash’s future,” he added.
Speaking to reporters earlier, Mumbai police sub inspector Pradeep Fude said: “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.”
On January 16, Mr Khan suffered grievous injuries, after he was stabbed six times reportedly by Islam, during a failed burglary attempt at the actor’s 12th floor residence in “Satguru Sharan” building in upscale Bandra.
Multiple teams of the police and the crime branch worked on several inputs and analysed footage from several CCTV cameras to track down the actor’s attacker.
Days later on January 19, Sariful Islam, a Bangladeshi national, was arrested from near Hiranandani Estate in Kasarvadavali in Thane, about 35 kilometres from Mr Khan’s house in Bandra. He was subsequently remanded in police custody.
Islam’s father, however, said his son is being framed for reasons unknown to him.
