Saif Ali Khan: Lawyers clashed in the court to defend Saif's attacker; Magistrate mediated as referee

During the hearing of the accused of the attack on Saif Ali Khan in Bandra court, some strange scenes were seen in the courtroom. Two lawyers clashed with each other to plead for the accused. There was also a scuffle between the two. To stop this unexpected development in the high-profile case, the magistrate had to play the role of referee. The matter was settled only after his intervention. He suggested the lawyers appear as a team.

Presented in Metropolitan Magistrate Court

Earlier, the police had told the media that the alleged attacker Mohammad Shariful Islam Shahzad is a Bangladeshi citizen, who was caught in Thane city. He is accused of illegally entering Saif's house in Bandra with the intention of theft. Shahzad was produced in the afternoon in the presence of a heavy police force in the Metropolitan Magistrate Court in Bandra.

The incident took place like this.

The court asked the accused if he had any complaints against the police, to which Shahzad replied 'no'. He was then taken to the accused's dock at the rear of the courtroom. A lawyer came forward claiming to appear for the accused. However, just before the accused could sign the Vakalatnama, a dramatic turn of events occurred when another lawyer entered the accused's dock and took Shehzad's signature on the Vakalatnama, leading to confusion over who would appear for the alleged attacker.

The magistrate intervened

To control the situation and calm the atmosphere, the magistrate suggested both the lawyers plead for Shehzad. The magistrate said, "Both of you can appear." After this, everyone's focus once again came back to the hearing. Both the lawyers agreed to this. After this, the court sent Shehzad to police custody for five days.

Several people were detained.

Before arresting the accused, the police had detained several people resembling him based on footage from a CCTV camera of actor Saif Ali Khan's building.

What is the matter?

Actor Saif Ali Khan was attacked on the intervening night of 15 and 16 January. After committing the crime, accused Mohammad Shariful Islam Shahzad was in Bandra till 7 am on 16 January and slept at a bus stop. A police officer said that later the accused reached Worli (in central Mumbai) by train. Investigation revealed that the accused climbed the stairs to the seventh-eighth floor. Then entered the duct area and reached the 12th floor with the help of a pipe. Here he entered Saif's flat through the bathroom window. When he came out of the bathroom, he was seen by the nurse living at the actor's house.

Argued with the nanny and demanded one crore rupees

The officer said that the accused argued with the nanny present in the house and demanded one crore rupees. Hearing the noise, Saif reached there and caught the accused. When he was caught, the accused stabbed Saif in the back. After this Saif locked the flat. However, the accused managed to escape from the same route from where he had entered. We recovered a hammer, screwdriver, nylon rope, and other items from his bag. He is suspected to have a criminal history, he said.