The 19 sets of fingerprints collected from actor Saif Ali Khan's residence after the attempted burglary and knife attack on him do not match the fingerprints of the main accused Shariful Islam, the investigation into the high-profile case has found, reports NDTV.
According to sources, Mumbai Police had sent the fingerprints found at Mr Khan's home to the fingerprint bureau of the state Criminal Investigation Department (CID). A system-generated report has established that the prints do not match Shariful's.
The CID, sources said, has informed the Mumbai Police that the test result is negative. Mumbai Police has sent more samples for further testing.
The 54-year-old actor suffered six stab injuries in a shocking attack on January 15 after an intruder broke into his home. When Mr Khan confronted the intruder, the latter attacked him with a knife. One of the stab injuries Mr Khan suffered was on his spine. The intruder managed to escape and Mr Khan was rushed to Lilavati Hospital with serious injuries.
The sources have said Mumbai Police had contacted Western Railway to help identify the suspect captured on footage of CCTV cameras in the 12-storey building where the actor lives.
The accused, it is learnt, had boarded a train from Bandra station and Railways had used its facial recognition system to shortlist some suspects whose appearance matched the intruder's.
Sources said this was done because the footage of the intruder exiting the building was unclear. While Shariful was arrested based on CCTV footage, police are trying to gather more evidence to build a bulletproof case against him.
Bd-pratidin English/Tanvir Raihan
