Saif booked under Assault case/ Kareena speaks out Pg21 - Page 10

Mumbai: Saif Ali Khan has filed a counter complaint with the Mumbai police against Iqbal Sharma, the man who claims that the actor assaulted him and fractured his nose at a restaurant in Mumbai late on Tuesday night. In his complaint, Saif has alleged that Mr Sharma's father-in-law punched him first and that the duo abused the women who were accompanying him at the restaurant.

Yesterday, at around 7:50 pm, Saif was arrested by the police at his lawyer's office based on the complaint filed by Iqbal Sharma. The actor arrived at the Colaba police station at 8 pm. Girlfriend and co-star Kareena Kapoor accompanied him. Around 90 minutes later, he left after having paid Rs. 15,000 and being granted bail.

Mr Sharma, a businessman from South Africa, says he was seated at the table next to Saif and his group at Wasabi, the uber-fancy restaurant at the Taj hotel in Colaba. The actor had other Bollywood friends with him - Kareena Kapoor, Kareena's sister Karisma Kapoor, actor Amrita Arora and her husband, Shakeel Ladak, and Bilal Amrohi, a producer. (Watch: The man whose nose Saif allegedly fractured)

In his version of events, Mr Sharma says he sent a note to Saif's table, asking his group to talk a little softer. "They were making a lot of noise. And we asked the management to ask them to be quiet so that we could also enjoy our evening. This failed on about three occasions at least." Mr Sharma says his family and he decided to leave the restaurant; on their way out, they ran into Saif who had left Wasabi and was on his way back in. At this point, Mr Sharma says, Saif struck.

But the actor says that's not the case. He claims he was hit first and so he acted in self defence. He adds that Mr Sharma was rude to the women at his table and that when he intervened, Mr Sharma threw the first punch. "I acted in self-defence. I was hit...I've got hit on the eye," he said in a press conference on Wednesday evening. (Watch) Earlier, in a press statement released just after he got bail, Saif said, "I don't think any gentleman would have behaved differently. The CCTV footage in the restaurant will prove everything." (Full text of Saif's statement to the police)

In his complaint, the actor has also alleged that his eye got swollen after he was punched and that Bilal Amrohi and Shakeel Ladak too have got bruises on their chest.

Police say they will study Saif's application and then decide if it's a cognizable offence. So far, they insist, they haven't given a clean chit to either the actor or Mr Sharma.

"We are studying the restaurant's CCTV footage. The security cameras at the staircase of the restaurant where the incident occurred did not capture the fight," a senior police official said, adding that statements of actresses Kareena Kapoor and Amrita Arora will now be recorded.

Saif's home production, Agent Vinod, releases on March 23. It co-stars Kareena.