An erroneous alert by Mumbai police has cost 31-year-old Akash Kailash Kanojia his job as well as his marriage, the Colaba resident told Hindustan Times.An erroneous alert by Mumbai police has cost 31-year-old Akash Kailash Kanojia his job as well as his marriage, the Colaba resident told Hindustan Times.
Kanojia was travelling from Mumbai to Bilaspur by Jnaneswar Express on January 17 to meet his prospective bride when he was detained by railway protection force (RPF) officers at Durg railway station. This was after Mumbai police alerted the RPF, saying he was the person behind the foiled burglary attempt at actor Saif Ali Khan’s apartment in Bandra West on January 16.
“The RPF personnel not only apprehended me, they also issued a press release with my photograph, which was shown widely by television channels and media outlets. As a result, the bride’s family cancelled the meeting with me and my employer terminated my services,” Kanojia said.
Kanojia was employed as a driver with a tour company which works with Western Railway in Mumbai. On January 17, he received a call from Mumbai police, who asked him where he was. When he told the officer that he was at home, the latter disconnected the call, he said.
“The next day, I boarded Jnaneswari Express from Mumbai hoping to visit my ailing grandmother in our native place Nehla in Chhattisgarh. I was supposed to change trains in Bilaspur to go to Nehla and was slated to meet the family of my prospective bride later,” he told HT.
At around 10am on January 18, when Jnaneswari Express reached Durg junction, RPF personnel detained him on suspicion of being the attacker and took him to Raipur. The Mumbai police team reached there almost twelve hours later and told him that he would be brought back to the city the following day for further investigation.
