ACTOR Saif Ali Khan’s controversial rumpus with South African national Iqbal Sharma at Mumbai’s prestigious Taj Mahal hotel is far from over.
After Khan filed a countercomplaint against Sharma for administering the alleged “ first blow”, the actor is in trouble again. A manager of the Wasabi restaurant, where the incident occurred, has claimed it was in fact Khan who provoked Sharma and landed the first punch.
The manager of the restaurant, who was an eye- witness to the incident, has told the police Khan was indeed the first one to hit in the fight.
He told the police that Sharma and his family objected to the noise the actor and his guests were making. When the group did not heed his repeated requests, Sharma and Khan got into a verbal brawl.
“ He told us that after a few words were exchanged, Saif lost his cool and punched Iqbal in the face. But the manager also said Iqbal used unkind words as well,” an officer at the Colaba police station said.
After his arrest on Tuesday and subsequent bail on a surety of ` 15,000, Khan had filed a counter- application through his lawyer, alleging that Sharma and his father- in- law came to his table and started abusing the women with him, starting the fight.
“ We are looking at Saif allegations too, but from what eyewitnesses are telling us, the first one to use physical force was the actor. Other hotel employees have also given their statements to the police and they all su