Mumbai: The assault charges filed by Bandra police on Shariful Fakir, actor Saif Ali Khan‘s attacker, has triggered another round of debate.
In the wee hours of Jan 16, Shariful broke into Khan’s Bandra home and repeatedly stabbed him — leaving behind a 2.5-inch knife tip in a wound near his mid spine that oozed spinal fluid.
While legal experts said that an attempt to murder charge could have been added given the extent of the back wound, police said their charges reflected the medico-legal case report filed by Lilavati Hospital doctors soon after Khan entered the casualty in his bloodied clothes.
The hospital report filed at 4.11am — almost an hour after the actor’s arrival — states multiple lacerations and abrasions and has no mention of the deep wound in his mid-spine region that necessitated an emergency operation.
A senior police officer said, “The severity of injuries alone doesn’t justify an attempt-to-murder charge. The intent is paramount.”
The FIR, based on the initial scene examination and Lilavati Hospital’s medico-legal case, has been filed for attempted robbery. Bandra police later added charges of grievous injury, armed robbery attempt and house trespassing after further investigation. As Shariful is a Bangladeshi national staying here illegally, police have since added provisions under the Foreigners Act, 1946 and the Foreigners Order, 1948.
A senior police officer said the omission of critical medical details has complicated the case. “The injuries mentioned in the report were deemed insufficient to invoke Section 109 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), which deals with attempted murder,” he said. To apply this stringent charge, police must assess the offender’s intent, the nature of injuries and the criminal history.
In public hospitals, where medico-legal case reports are regularly filed, the initial report is almost always followed by a detailed report by surgeon or treating doctor. “However, we send the surgeon’s report only after police seek an updated report,” a doctor said, adding that police more often than not ask for such a follow-up report within 24 hours of the patient’s admission. The initial report is filled in the casualty, and mostly includes observations. “Reports of detailed scans or blood reports are not available at this time,” said the doctor.
It is learnt that police are awaiting further evidence and analysis before adding Section 109 (attempt to murder), if at all. If invoked, the section carries a maximum punishment of 10 years’ jail.
Meanwhile, Khan is recovering under medical care, and his legal team is reportedly preparing to pursue stricter charges against the accused.
