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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Mumbai:

Police on Sunday said they have arrested a Bangladeshi national for stabbing Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan at his Mumbai residence. Preliminary investigation suggests the man – Shariful Islam Shehzad Mohammad Rohilla Amin Fakir – was unaware that he had entered Mr Khan’s house and his intention was theft, a senior police official told reporters after his arrest.

Saif Ali Khan was stabbed six times, including in his neck, at his apartment in the posh Bandra West neighbourhood early Thursday morning.

What We Know About Man Who Stabbed Saif Ali Khan

Shariful Islam Shehzad Mohammad Rohilla, 30, was arrested from Hiranandani Estate on Ghodbandar Road in neighbouring Thane district. Police said he entered India illegally and had been living in Mumbai for the past four months.

He changed his name to Bijoy Das after entering India.

Rohilla is a bachelor and used to work at a housekeeping agency. He, however, was unemployed for some months.

He used to live in a rented house with some friends in Mumbai’s Worli.

Attack On Saif Ali Khan

Saif Ali Khan was stabbed multiple times and was rushed to the city’s Lilavati Hospital in an autorickshaw where he underwent emergency surgery.

The 54-year-old was attacked when he was with his family members – his wife and fellow actor Kareena Kapoor Khan, and their two sons, four-year-old Jeh and eight-year-old Taimur – at their residence in the 12-floor apartment – Satguru Sharan – in Bandra.

Eliyama Philip – a nurse caring for Jeh – and another staffer were also injured in the attack.

A 2.5-inch piece of the blade was removed from Mr Khan’s spine after a five-hour-long surgery. He is recovering well, doctors treating him said Friday.

Mumbai Police had formed about 30 teams to arrest the accused, who was also captured on CCTV cameras in the building.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday said the police have gathered several clues in the case pertaining to an attack on actor Saif Ali Khan at his residence, and the culprit will be arrested soon.

Mr Fadnavis’ remarks came as at least two images of the suspect, whose face was clearly captured on CCTVs, have surfaced.

Speaking to reporters in Nagpur, Mr Fadnavis, who holds the home portfolio in the state, said: “Police investigation is going on….they have got many clues and I feel the police will very soon zero in (on the culprit).” 

Mr Khan was grievously injured after an intruder stabbed him six times at his residence in Mumbai’s post Bandra West neighbourhood area early on Thursday. The actor, who received multiple stab injuries, including in his neck, underwent an emergency surgery at Lilavati Hospital and is currently recovering.

In one of the images of the suspected attacker that surfaced on Thursday, he is seen taking the stairs while fleeing the building after stabbing the actor. In another image that surfaced on Friday, he is seen in a new set of clothes at, according to sources, Bandra Railway Station. 

Earlier on Friday, reports emerged that a possible suspect had been detained by the police but a top officer later clarified that the man, who was taken to Bandra Police Station, had nothing to do with the case.

According to police sources, the accused had demanded Rs 1 crore after barging inside Mr Khan’s flat. 

Mumbai:

The man who stabbed Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan at his Mumbai residence early Thursday morning had also threatened his domestic staff before the alleged attack. In a police statement, Mr Khan’s domestic staff said the knife-wielding attacker – who is on the run and was seen near the Bandra railway station hours after the incident – also demanded a ransom of Rs 1 crore.

Saif Ali Khan was stabbed six times, including in his neck, at his apartment in the posh Bandra West neighbourhood around 2:30 am. He is said to be out of danger following an emergency surgery at the Lilavati Hospital where he was reportedly rushed by one of his sons – Ibrahim Ali Khan – in an auto-rickshaw after his car was delayed.

Eliyama Philip – a nurse caring for Mr Khan’s four-year-old son Jehangir (also known as Jeh) – and another staffer were also injured in the attack.

Intruder Enters Saif Ali Khan’s House

Saif Ali Khan and his family members – his wife and fellow actor Kareena Kapoor, and their two sons, Jeh and eight-year-old Taimur – were home in the 12-floor apartment along with their five house helps when the attacker entered the house.

In a statement to the police, Ms Philip, who claimed she has been with the Khan household for four years, said she was the first to spot the intruder – who was between 35-40 years old – at Mr Khan’s apartment on the 11th floor.

A view of the 12-storey building, Satguru Sharan, in which Saif Ali Khan was attacked
Photo Credit: ANI

She said she had been woken by noises in the house around 2 am – three hours after Jehangir had been put to bed. She told the police the attacker first entered Jeh’s room.

Ms Philip said she saw the bathroom door ajar and the light on and first assumed that Ms Kapoor Khan was checking in on her younger son.

“… then I went back to sleep but, again, I realised something was wrong. So I woke up again and saw a man come out of the bathroom and go into the boy’s room.”

“I quickly got up and went to Jeh’s room. The attacker then put his finger near his mouth and said “Don’t make any noise, nobody will go out” in Hindi,” Ms Philip said.

When I rushed to pick up Jeh, the man – who was armed with a wooden stick and a long Hexa blade – ran towards me and tried attacking me, she said.

“I tried to block the attack by putting my hand forward, but the blade hit me near the wrists of both my hands and on the middle finger of my left hand,” she said.

“At that time, I asked him, “What do you want?”. Then he said, “I want money.” I asked, “How much do you want?” Then he said in English, “One crore”,” 56-year-old Philip recalled in her police statement.

Saif Ali Khan’s Encounter With Intruder

Hearing Ms Philip’s scream, Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor Khan rushed out of their room. When Mr Khan asked him “what do you want?”, he attacked him with a wooden object and the hexa blade, Ms Philip said in her police statement.

“Saif Sir somehow managed to get away from him and we all ran out of the room and pulled the door of the room,” she said, adding that everyone then went to the upper floor of their home.

The intruder later managed to escape, she said.

Suspect in Saif Ali Khan knife attack incident

According to police sources, there was no sign of forced entry, nor was anyone captured on CCTV entering the premises in the two hours before the attack.

According to police sources, the intruder – who entered the actor’s home to commit burglary – had scaled the wall of an adjacent compound to enter the premises. Officials said the intruder was familiar with the layout of the building and took the stairs on the rear side of the building to reach the floor where the actor lives.

He then entered Mr Khan’s home through the fire escape.

Mumbai Police has formed 20 teams to arrest the accused, who was captured on CCTV cameras on the sixth floor while fleeing.

Actor Saif Ali Khan, who underwent surgeries on Thursday after an attacker stabbed him at his Mumbai home, is out of danger and recovering well, doctors at the Lilavati Hospital said. The police have formed 20 teams to arrest the accused.