Amrita Arora testifies in 2012 assault case against Saif Ali Khan

MUMBAI: Actor-model Amrita Arora on Saturday deposed before a metropolitan magistrate court in a 2012 brawl case involving actor Saif Ali Khan, who is facing the charge of assaulting a businessman from South Africa and his father-in-law at Hotel Taj Mahal Palace.

The incident took place on February 22, 2012, when the businessman, identified as Iqbal Mir Sharma, protested the alleged raucous chatter of Saif Ali Khan and his group of friends, and the actor allegedly threatened Sharma and punched him in the nose, fracturing it.

The actor was accompanied by his wife and actor Kareena Kapoor Khan, her sister Karisma Kapoor, actors Malaika Arora Khan, Amrita Arora, and some male friends at the time. The businessman alleged that Khan along with his friends also hit his father-in-law.

The police had subsequently booked Khan and the two friends, Shakeel Ladakh and Bilal Amrohi. Khan had maintained that Sharma made provocative statements against them and used abusive language against the women, which resulted in the brawl.

Amrita Arora on Saturday told the court that she and her husband Shakil Ladakh were sitting with their group of friends at the Wasabi restaurant at Taj when a person barged in and told them to shut up in a loud aggressive voice. She said that Khan had apologised to the person at the time.

Arora further told the court that a couple of minutes after Khan went to the washroom, they heard loud screams and shouts from outside. When one of them recognised Khan’s voice, they all went outside and saw the businessman assaulting Khan, after which her friends tried to separate them. She said that they were shocked by the sight of Khan’s torn shirt .

In her examination-in-chief, Arora stated that the businessman had abused them and told them that they were not aware what he was capable of. Disturbed by the incident, they paid the bill and left the restaurant.

As the defence is yet to cross-examine Arora, the matter has been adjourned to April 7.

The trial in the case began in June last year and the charges were framed against Khan and two others in 2014. The trio were charged under sections 325 (voluntarily causing grievous hurt) and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code.