Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan was arrested on Wednesday evening with two others for assaulting a 44 year old South African NRI businessman Iqbal Meer Sharma in the Japanese restaurant Wasabi at the Taj late on Tuesday night.
Wednesday afternoon, the police sent a team to Saif's Bandra residence and failed to locate him there. They were unable to establish contact with the actor or any of his associates till late afternoon.
The BRATTY NAWAB was virtually declared 'wanted' for assaulting businessman Iqbal Sharma, who is also the director general and CEO of the Trade, Industry & Investments of South Africa.
At around 4.30pm, there was official confirmation that the actor would court arrest at Colaba. After being interrogated for an hour at the Marine Drive police station, and later brought to the Colaba police station at around 7.30 pm, all three (Saif Ali Khan, his friend producer Bilal Amrohi and Businessman Shakeel Ladak, actress Amrita Arora's husband) were released on bail on personal bonds of Rs.3,000 each at 8.30 pm.
After beng released Saif said, "There was an ugly incident last night where my friends and the ladies with us were abused and I was assaulted. I was hit and I defended myself. I have been to the police station to answer the requirements of law as I am a law abiding citizen. I have also filed a complaint about what happened last night and I am confident justice will be done. I have seen the interviews given on TV and they look like decent people and I cannot believe that the same people were so aggressive the night before and the lies that they are saying about me with such straight faces. I think they have the cc tv footage in the restaurant that will prove everything. I hope the media is able to remain impartial while the matter is being decided. I don't think any gentleman would have behaved differently"
A close friend of Saif said, "When Saif was coming back from the washroom he was attacked on the neck by this middle-aged man. It was an unprovoked act of aggression and Saif reacted only after it."
The actor filed a counter-complaint with the Colaba police under section 325 against Sharma and his father-in-law for allegedly causing him "grievous injury". Saif said that he had been provoked by Sharma who allegedly was behaving in an obnoxious manner and "using unparliamentary language" around the table where he sat with others.
Iqbal Sharma said that Saif allegedly accosted him and abused him. Me and my family had requested the restaurant manager to ask Saif and his friends, which included Kareena, Karisma Kapoor, Amrita Arora and Malaika Arora Khan, to keep their voices down, they even decided to move to another part of the restaurant downstairs. As we were going down the stairs, Saif was coming up and as he passed me, he called me an idiot and asked "Do you know who i am ?" He asked me what my problem was and said I should go to a library if I wanted peace and quiet. We exchanged some words and then he punched me, while two other men pushed my 69 year old father-in-law,who fell on the stairs and bruised his jaw."
According to sources, Shakeel Ladak is said to have hit Sharma's father-in-law. Shakeel and Bilal's lawyer Mahesh Vaswani said "Iqbal and his group of people were passing comments on the girls (who were part of Saif's group), and that started the incident."
Sharma then went to GT Hospital where the doctors told him he had fractured his nasal bone. After receiving treatment, he went to the Colaba police station to file a complaint. "He came at 2.30am and narrated the entire sequence of events. We registered an FIR against Saif Ali Khan and two unknown men who were not identified by Sharma," said Iqbal Sheikh, assistant commissioner of police (Colaba division).
Sheikh said they will examine CCTV footage from the hotel and question eyewitnesses to get a clear picture. "There is no CCTV footage available from the spot where the fight took place. But we will check footage from entry and exit points to verify if the time references given by the complainant are accurate," he said.
Sharma has insisted that he will not opt for an out-of-court settlement at any stage. "This is a serious matter and we will not compromise on the issue. He and his friends have assaulted an old man and this is unpardonable. I will not back down even if he apologizes."
Author : Suja , a management trainee, programmer, movie enthusiast and a fashion critic who loves to enjoy each moment of her life and is crazy about music! She calls herself the freak!(suja@indiaviolet.com)
Gift Coupons: 
