Mumbai:

Mumbai Police has collected blood samples of actor Saif Ali Khan and the clothes he was wearing on January 16 in connection with the case related to the knife attack on him. Besides, the clothes the accused, Mohammad Shariful Islam Shehzad, was wearing on the day of the crime were also seized.

The accused’s clothes have blood spots which will be matched with the actor’s blood samples, police sources said.

Blood samples and clothes of the actor and the accused have been sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) to find out whether the blood on the accused’s clothes was that of the actor.

On Friday, Saif Ali Khan recorded his statement with the Mumbai Police in which he said that the accused demanded Rs 1 crore and attacked the nanny, and when he tried to stop him, Shehzad escaped after stabbing him multiple times.

The actor suffered stab injuries after the intruder entered his home for an apparent burglary through a duct. A preliminary investigation had established that the accused broke into the apartment with the motive of robbery.

Shehzad, who had illegally entered India from Bangladesh last year, was arrested from Thane near Mumbai on January 19.

Fingerprints collected from Saif Ali Khan’s Bandra flat matched those of Shehzad’s, the police said.

However, Shehzad’s father, Md Ruhul Amin Fakir, told IANS that the person captured in the CCTV footage from Saif Ali Khan’s home does not resemble his son.

The incident has drawn reactions from political bigwigs and the Bollywood industry. While those in Bollywood wished the actor a quick recovery and expressed concern over the security situation, Opposition leaders used it to attack the Mahayuti government.

Adding fuel to the controversy, Maharashtra Ports and Fisheries Minister Nitesh Rane has raised serious doubts over the attack on Saif Ali Khan, asking if he was stabbed with a knife or was it just an act.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Mumbai:

Actor Saif Ali Khan, who suffered stab injuries after an intruder entered his Mumbai home on January 16, recorded his statement with the Bandra police on Thursday. Recalling the incident, Mr Khan said that he and his actor wife Kareena Kapoor Khan were in their bedroom on the 11th floor of the Satguru Sharan building when they heard their younger son Jehangir’s (Jeh) nanny scream.

Awakened by her screams, Mr Khan and Ms Kapoor rushed to their son’s room where they saw the alleged attacker. While the nanny – Eliyama Philips – was scared and screaming, Jeh was crying, Mr Khan told the police.

When Mr Khan tried to stop the accused, he stabbed the actor several times on his back, neck, and hands, police sources said. Despite being injured, the actor pushed the intruder inside the room as Ms Philips ran away with Jeh and locked him in, they added.

Saif Ali Khan and his family members – wife and actor Kareena Kapoor, and their two sons Jeh and Taimur – were in the house when the attacker entered the 12th-floor apartment for an apparent burglary. According to Ms Philips, the intruder had demanded Rs 1 crore.

Also Read | ID Card, Learner’s Licence: Cops Get Proof Saif Attacker Is Bangladeshi

Mr Khan, who suffered six stab injuries – one of which was on his spine – was rushed to the Lilavati Hospital around 2 am on the night of the incident. He underwent a surgery to fix leaking spinal fluid and plastic surgeries on his arm and neck. He was discharged on January 21.

Saif Ali Khan’s attacker arrested

The alleged attacker Sariful Islam, who had illegally entered India from Bangladesh last year, was arrested last week from Thane near Mumbai after a three-day manhunt involving at least 20 teams from the Mumbai Police. The cops zeroed in on his location after he paid for breakfast – a paratha – via a Google Pay transaction, sources told NDTV.

The Mumbai Police also found several fingerprints of the accused at the actor’s residence, on the stairs of the building, the door of the toilet, and the door handle of his son Jeh’s room – which have been sent for evaluation.

The 30-year-old accused reportedly confessed to the crime two days after the arrest saying, “haan, maine hi kiya hai (yes, I did it)”.

However, Shariful’s father defended his son by saying he was “wrongfully implicated” in the incident.

“From what is shown in the CCTV… my son never keeps his hair long. I believe my son is being framed. He left Bangladesh and came to India for one reason – the political unrest in Bangladesh… He was working where he received a salary, and his employer even rewarded him,” Md Ruhul Amin Fakir said.

Mumbai:

The Bangladeshi national arrested for attacking Saif Ali Khan gained entry into the actor’s building in Mumbai’s Bandra area by scaling its compound wall, and found the security guards sleeping at that time, police said on Tuesday.

The Mumbai police on Tuesday recreated the crime scene with the accused at the Satguru Sharan building, where the actor resides.

Khan (54) was stabbed repeatedly by the intruder, Shariful Islam Shehzad Mohammad Rohilla Amin Fakir alias Vijay Das (30), inside his 12-floor apartment in the wee hours of January 16. The actor suffered multiple stab injuries in the attack and underwent an emergency surgery at the Lilavati Hospital.

Three days after the attack, the police arrested the accused from neighbouring Thane city.

A police official said, “Both the security guards in the building where actor Saif Ali Khan resides were sleeping when his attacker entered it by crossing over the boundary wall.” “As he found both the security guards in deep slumber, the accused entered the building from the main entrance where no CCTV camera has been installed. The accused removed his shoes and kept them in his bag to avoid making any noise and also switched off his phone,” he said.

“During the probe, the police found that there are no CCTV cameras installed in the building’s corridor. The investigation revealed that one of the two security guards was sleeping in the cabin and the other near the gate,” he added.

In order to recreate the crime scene, the police took the accused to the actor’s building as well as at other places that he possibly visited to have food, to change clothes and to board a train, he said.

The accused is kept in the police lockup either at the Bandra or the Santacruz police stations and no one except the investigation officer has permission to meet him, he said, adding that he is being provided food that other accused are being given.

Police Inspector (Crime) Ajay Lingnurkar has been appointed as the investigation officer in the case, the official said.

Fakir, a native of Jhalokathi district in Bangladesh, had been residing in Mumbai for over five months, working odd jobs and associated with a housekeeping agency, the police have said.

A court in Mumbai on Sunday remanded the accused in five-day police custody. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Mumbai:

The Bangladeshi national, who has been arrested on charges of stabbing actor Saif Ali Khan after breaking into his residence, entered India through Meghalaya seven months ago and stayed in West Bengal for a few weeks before he moved to Mumbai in search of a job, police sources have revealed.

Mumbai Police officers involved in the interrogation of the accused, Mohammad Shariful Islam Shehzad, said the 30-year-old crossed the Dawki river, along the India-Bangladesh border in Meghalaya, to illegally enter India. He then changed his name to Bijoy Das and began living in the country, they added. 

Police had earlier said that Shehzad is a native of Jhalokathi district in Bangladesh. 

According to a police official, Shehzad said that during his stay in Bengal, he used a local resident’s Aadhaar card to procure a mobile phone SIM card before moving to Mumbai.

The SIM card was registered in the name of one Khukumoni Jahangir Sekha of Bengal, the official said.

After reaching Mumbai, the officer added, the accused chose to work in places where he was not required to furnish any documents. “He studied till Class 12 in Bangladesh and had come to India in search of a job,” the officer said. 

Saif Ali Khan suffered grievous injuries after he was stabbed six times, reportedly by Shehzad during a failed burglary attempt at the actor’s 12th-floor residence in “Satguru Sharan” building in upscale Bandra in the early hours of January 16. The doctors who performed an emergency surgery had removed a 2.5-inch piece of a broken knife from his spine afterwards. 

If the knife had pierced 2 mm deeper, it could have caused a severe injury, the doctors had noted. The actor was discharged from hospital and returned home on Tuesday.

Shehzad, sources earlier said, told police that he stabbed the actor in his back multiple times in an attempt to free himself after he had grabbed hold of him. He also said that he hid in the garden of the building housing Mr Khan flat for around two hours before fleeing the area.

In her statement to the police, Mr Khan’s wife and actor Kareena Kapoor Khan recalled the attack on her husband and said she saw the intruder stab him repeatedly. “The attacker was aggressive. I saw him attack Saif repeatedly…Our priority was to take Saif to the hospital,” she said. 

A nurse caring for the couple’s younger son Jehangir (Jeh), Eliyama Philips – who first encountered the intruder – said the accused had demanded Rs 1 crore. 

Multiple teams of the police and the crime branch worked on several inputs and analysed footage from several CCTV cameras to track down Mr Khan’s attacker. 

After over 70 hours of an intense manhunt, Shehzad was arrested from near Hiranandani Estate in Kasarvadavali in Thane, about 35 kilometres from Mr Khan’s house in Bandra, on Sunday. He was subsequently remanded in police custody for five days.

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:

The seriousness of the courtroom in Bandra, where a Bangladeshi man arrested for allegedly attacking actor Saif Ali Khan was presented on Sunday, momentarily dissipated when two lawyers jostled to represent him.

The unusual drama concerning the high-profile case prompted the magistrate before whom the 30-year-old man had been brought for remand proceedings to act as referee and suggest to the lawyers to appear as a team.

After breaking much sweat, the Mumbai police on Sunday morning arrested Mohammad Shariful Islam Shehzad from Thane city for allegedly sneaking into the Bollywood star’s Bandra home in the early hours of January 16 with the intention of theft and repeatedly stabbing him.

Amid heavy police presence, Shehzad was produced before a metropolitan magistrate court in Bandra in the afternoon.

The court asked him if he had any complaints against the police to which Shehzad replied in the negative. He was then taken to a box meant for accused persons in the back end of the courtroom.

A lawyer then came forward claiming to be appearing for the accused.

However, the scene turned dramatic just before he could take the signature of the accused on the ‘vakalatamana’ (legal document authorising a lawyer to appear in a case).

Another lawyer jostled his way to the accused box and took Shehzad’s signature on his vakalatamana, triggering moments of confusion about who would appear for the alleged attacker.

To defuse the situation, the magistrate suggested to both the competing lawyers to represent Shehzad. “You both can appear,” the magistrate said, bringing back the focus on the remand proceedings. The duo agreed.

The court subsequently remanded Shehzad in police custody for five days.

Before arresting the accused, police had rounded up several individuals who resembled him based on the footage of a CCTV camera from the actor’s building.

Saif Ali Khan, one of Bollywood’s leading actors, was repeatedly stabbed with a knife by an intruder inside his 12th-floor apartment in ‘Satguru Sharan’ building in upscale Bandra in the early hours of January 16.

The 54-year-old actor underwent an emergency surgery at the Lilavati Hospital where he was rushed following the incident that took place around 2.30 am. He is recovering and may be discharged soon, doctors have said.

Earlier in the day, police said Shehzad hails from Jhalokathi, also called Jhalakathi, district in southern Bangladesh’s Barisal division, adding that he was in Mumbai for the past five months, during which he did petty jobs, including at a housekeeping agency. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Durg:

A man who was detained in Chhattisgarh’s Durg railway station in connection with the January 16 Saif Ali Khan attack case was released on Sunday, a police official said.

Mumbai police, earlier in the day, informed that it had arrested a 30-year-old man from Thane near the metropolis in the case.

“The man detained from the Mumbai LTT-Kolkata Shalimar Jnaneshwari Express at Durg station on Saturday afternoon was just a suspect and he has been released after inquiry. He was kept at the RPF post at Durg station through the night and released this morning,” the police official said.

“We can detain anyone for inquiry. We had been insisting he was just a suspect. There has been no mistake on our part. We had told the media that we would share authentic details but some went ahead and declared him an accused,” Mumbai police sub inspector Pradeep Fude told reporters at Dug railway station.

Incidentally, RPF officials here had on Saturday said the man was detained after his photo was sent to them by Mumbai police.

A Mumbai police team led by Funde had arrived here last night to question the detained man.

Mumbai police on Sunday said it had arrested alleged attacker Mohammad Shariful Islam Shehzad, a Bangladeshi national who had illegally entered India and changed his name to Bijoy Das.

As per preliminary probe, he had entered the Bollywood star’s home, in Satguru Sharan building in Bandra, in the early hours of January 16 with the intention of theft, police said in the metropolis.

Khan (54) was stabbed multiple times in the attack, after which he underwent a five-hour surgery in nearby Lilavati Hospital. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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.

Mumbai:

A man was arrested from Maharashtra’s Thane early this morning for allegedly attacking Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan in his house. The accused, identified as Mohammed Aliyan, was caught near the Hiranandani Estate in Kasarvadavali, about 35 kilometres from Mr Saif’s residence.

He said his name was Vijay Das because of his fear of getting caught. He used to work as a housekeeping staff at a bar in Thane.

Saif Ali Khan suffered multiple stab wounds, including on his neck and near the spine, after an intruder entered his upscale Bandra home and attacked him in the early hours of Thursday.

The 54-year-old actor – who was stabbed six times – was rushed to the city’s Lilavati Hospital in an autorickshaw where he underwent emergency surgery. A 2.5-inch piece of the blade was removed from his spine after a five-hour-long surgery.

He is recovering well, doctors treating him said Friday.

Earlier Saturday, a suspect – identified as 31-year-old Aakash Kailash Kannojia from Mumbai – was detained at Chhattisgarh’s Durg railway station.

Officials said he was “caught from the Mumbai-Howrah Jnaneswari Express on the lead of the Mumbai Police.”

“Around 2 pm, when the train reached Durg, the suspect – who was sitting in the general compartment – deboarded and was immediately taken into custody. He is being interrogated,” the Railway Protection Force (RPF) officials said.

“The Mumbai Police had sent the suspect’s photo, train number and location to the RPF, after which he was caught,” they said. The man was travelling without a ticket.

Sources claimed the detained passenger looked like the suspect in the actor-stabbing case.

Saif Ali Khan Attacked At His Mumbai Residence

Saif Ali Khan 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 his 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. In a statement to the police, Ms Philip 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.

She also said the knife-wielding attacker also demanded a ransom of Rs 1 crore.

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

The 56-year-old 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.

She claimed 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”,” Ms Philip recalled in her police statement.

Saif Ali Khan Confronts Intruder

Hearing Eliyama Philip’s scream, Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor Khan rushed out of their room. When Mr Khan asked the intruder what he wanted, he attacked him with a wooden object and the hexa blade, Ms Philip said.

“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.

Police sources said the intruder – who entered the actor’s home to commit burglary – had scaled the wall of an adjacent compound to enter the premises.

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

Mumbai:

The manhunt to arrest the intruder who attacked actor Saif Ali Khan in his Bandra residence on Thursday is still ongoing, with the Mumbai Police recording statements of over 30 people. One person has been detained for questioning.