I want justice as Mumbai cops have ruined my life: Man detained, released in Saif attack case
Mumbai, Jan 26 (PTI): A man who was detained in Durg in Chhattisgarh as a suspect in the January 16 Saif Ali Khan attack case said on Sunday that his life is in complete disarray following police action, leaving him without a job, a snub from his prospective bride and family facing ignominy.
Akash Kanojia (31), a driver, was detained from Mumbai Lokmanya Tilak Terminus-Kolkata Shalimar Jnaneshwari Express at Durg station by the Railway Protection Force on January 18 after a tip off from Mumbai police.
On the morning of January 19, Mumbai police arrested Bangladeshi national Shariful Islam Shehzad Mohammad Rohilla Amin Fakir alias Vijay Das from neighbouring Thane, after which the Durg RPF allowed Kanojia to go leave.
Saif Ali Khan (54) was stabbed repeatedly by an intruder during a robbery attempt at his 12th floor residence in Satguru Sharan in Mumbai's Bandra area in the early hours of January 16. He underwent surgery and was later discharged.
"My family was left shocked and in tears after media started showing my pictures and claimed I was the main suspect in the case. One mistake of the Mumbai police ruined my life. They failed to notice I had a moustache and the person in the CCTV grab from the actor's building did not," Kanojia told PTI.
"After the incident, I had got a call from police who asked me where I was. The call was disconnected after I told them I was at home. I was travelling to meet my prospective bride when I was detained at Durg and then taken to Raipur. The Mumbai police team that reached there assaulted me as well," he claimed.
Kanojia said after being released, his mother asked him to come home, but his life started unravelling from there on.
"When I called my employer, he asked me not to report to work. He refused to listen to my explanation. My grandmother then told me the family of my prospective bride had refused to go ahead with marriage talks following my detention," he said.
Kanojia claimed his brother died after prolonged medical treatment, which had forced his family to sell their Virar home and shift to a chawl in Cuffe Parade.
"I have two cases against my name in Cuffe Parade and one at Gurgaon. But it doesn't mean I can be pulled up as a suspect in such a manner and then be left in the lurch. I plan to stand outside Saif Ai Khan's building and seek a job as I have lost everything because of what happened to him," Kanojia said.
Kanojia said it was divine intervention that Shariful was caught within hours of him being detained at Durg railway station.
"Or else, who knows, I may have been shown as the accused in the case. I now want justice," he said irately.
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CM Siddaramaiah to withdraw all cases against pro-Kannada activists
Bengaluru, Jan 27 (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah announced on Monday that all cases registered against pro-Kannada activists will be withdrawn.
The CM was addressing a gathering at the unveiling of the 25-feet-tall bronze statue of Bhuvaneshwari, the goddess who represents the Karnataka state identity, on the premises of the Vidhana Soudha.
The statue of Bhuvaneshwari, which was sculpted at an approximate cost of Rs 21.24 crore is 41-feet-tall including the pedestal, and weighs around 31.5 tonne.
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While speaking at the event, although he acknowledged that one must love and embrace all languages, the CM said, in Karnataka, Kannadigas should follow the culture of speaking and interacting with “their brothers and other speakers” in Kannada.
“Instead of speaking incorrectly in other languages, we should speak our own language. In all our neighbouring states, the language spoken by the people of the respective state is sovereign. This should be practiced here, too,” said Siddaramaiah.
Insisting that everyone in the state should develop respect for the Kannada language, culture and art, the CM called for more learning and teaching of reading and writing Kannada.
“Only then will Kannada become the sovereign language,” he added.
