Saif Ali Khan says he was assaulted by nose he broke

Saif Ali Khan was embroiled in a controversy after Iqbal Sharma, an NRI from South Africa, alleged that the actor assaulted him during an altercation at Wasabi, a Japanese restaurant at the Taj Mahal Palace in Colaba, around 12.30am on Wednesday. The police on Wednesday evening arrested Saif and two others — Bilal Amrohi and Shakeel Ladak — in connection with the incident, but immediately granted bail to the trio for Rs15,000 each.

“I am a law-abiding citizen. All allegations against me are false and justice will be done,” Saif told a bevy of onlookers while leaving the Colaba police station. He was accompanied by his lawyer Mohan Jaikar.

The police failed to trace Saif or establish contact with him despite visiting his residence and offices in Bandra, Juhu and Khar on Wednesday afternoon. Saif, who was in an office in Raheja Towers at Nariman Point, reached the police station around 8pm in a black SUV.

Sharma said the incident occurred when Saif accompanied by girlfriend Kareena Kapoor, her sister Karisma Kapoor, Malaika Arora-Khan, Amrita Arora and others, was having dinner at Wasabi.

“Sharma and his family were seated close to the table where Saif and 10 of his friends were having dinner. Saif’s group was making a lot of noise and therefore, Sharma requested them to lower their voice. This led to a heated argument and a scuffle between Saif and Sharma,” said Iqbal Shaikh, assistant police commissioner, Colaba division.

“Saif and two others from his group then bashed up Sharma, resulting in the Johannesburg businessman suffering a nasal bone fracture,” Shaikh said.

The police said Sharma was very upset with the incident. “He consulted his friends and first went to GT hospital. He then came with his medical report and lodged a complaint against Saif and two others,” senior inspector Vinod Sawant said.

"Since Sharma is an NRI, we asked him whether he wanted to pursue the case as he will have to be present for further legal procedures. He said he will fight till the end,” Sawant said. “He told us that he would also come to court for the proceedings. The punishment according to section 325 (Punishment for voluntarily causing grievous hurt) of the Indian Penal Code is maximum seven years imprisonment or fine. The trial can take place in a magistrate court.”

Lawyer Mahesh Vaswani, who represented Amrohi and Ladak, said: “He (Sharma), hurled abuses first and initiated the fight. He also used bad language against the girls in the group. My clients never assaulted him.”

The incident involving an actor came weeks after Shah Rukh Khan slapped director Shirsh Kunder last month.