New Delhi:
Undone by a paratha. And the digital payments infrastructure.
That was how Shariful Islam Shehzad, the man accused of stabbing Saif Ali Khan six times – in a suspected attempted burglary incident – was tracked down and arrested by Mumbai Police Sunday.
Sources told NDTV this morning teams of police looking for Shehzad zeroed in on his location after he paid for breakfast – a paratha – via a Google Pay transaction, presumably on his mobile phone.
Sources also said he used to work at that restaurant, where he received praise for his hard work. The police also reportedly plan to speak to the person who hired Shehzad – a man called Pandey.
From there the accused fled to Dadar and then to Thane.
READ | Man Who Stabbed Saif Ali Khan Hid In Thane. How Cops Found Him
This was after he earlier jumped from Bandra (where the attack took place) to Dadar to Worli and then Andheri, and then back to Dadar; moving around was how he managed to evade the cops for a while.
How Shehzad Was Finally Caught
A Bangladeshi national living illegally in India, he was taken into custody off the side of a deserted road in the Thane area; in scenes that would not be out of place in a movie, he was hunted into a thicket by the side of the road that was then surrounded before the police caught their man.
He had been on the run since the attack on the Bollywood star at his home in Mumbai’s posh Bandra West area (very) early Thursday. The police believe he sneaked past the high-profile building’s security by jumping over the compound wall of an adjacent building and sneaking in via a rear staircase.
He reportedly told cops he used the air-conditioning ducts to avoid detection.
A police official said Shehzad took the stairs till the seventh or eighth floor and then entered the ducts, climbing to the 12th floor and entering the actor’s flat through a bathroom window. He was seen spotted by the actor’s staff, which led to the chain of events that resulted in the attack.
Shehzad was caught on CCTV cameras entering and exiting stairwell, providing clear images that helped the police identify him and track his movements. The hunt included forming 30 police teams, each following separate leads and lines of investigation, including scanning hours of security footage.
READ | Another Photo Of Saif Case Suspect: Changed Clothes After Attack
The footage wasn’t just from Saif Ali Khan’s home; in fact, a critical moment was when the cops spotted Shehzad on CCTV footage in DN Nagar in Andheri, which is about 12 km from Bandra West.
He was spotted on a two-wheeler, which provided cops with another way to track him.
In escaping from the police (for as long he did), Shehzad was at a bus stop in the Bandra area till 7am on the day of the attack, after which he made his way on to a train to Worli.
READ | Saif Ali Khan Attack Accused Slept At Bus Stop After Incident: Cops
The police also latched on to his phone’s signal for a while, but lost that after he turned it off; he told cops he panicked after seeing his photo (from CCTV cameras in the rear stairwell in Saif Ali Khan’s house) on TV news bulletins. The last-recorded location of the phone was from Thane.
What Happened That Night
A little past 2am on Thursday, Shehzad was caught inside the bedroom of the actor’s youngest son – Jehangir. Shehzad told police he did not know he was in the Bollywood star’s home. In the scuffle that followed Khan was stabbed six times, including a life-threatening wound near his spinal cord.
After the stabbing the suspect fled, changing his blood-stained clothes on the way; the police haven’t yet found that piece of the evidence chain, which they will need to match with Saif Ali Khan’s blood and prove, beyond any reasonable doubt, that Shehzad stabbed the actor.
READ | “If Knife Was 2 mm Deeper…”: Doctors Say Saif Out Of ICU
Khan was rushed to Lilavati Hospital – in an auto-rickshaw because his private vehicles were not immediately available – where he underwent extensive surgery for several hours. Doctors – who recovered a two-and-half inch piece of the knife lodged in his back – later said he is recovering well.
Shehzad has been sent to police custody for five days.
The police are also checking if he had accomplices within the actor’s home.
Attacker’s Lawyer Says ‘Innocent’
The lawyer representing Shehzad has argued the allegations are false and that his client is being made a scapegoat because a celebrity is involved. “… nothing (incriminating) has been recovered from him.”
READ | Saif Attacker Jailed For 5 Days, Claims He Is Being Framed
“They have not produced any document to prove he is a Bangladeshi national,” his lawyer said.
However, the suspect himself reportedly told cops, “…haan, maine hi kiya hai (yes, I did it)”.
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