The Mumbai Police teams investigating the stabbing of actor Saif Ali Khan have accessed two identity cards proving the nationality of his alleged attacker Sariful Islam, who had illegally entered India from Bangladesh last year and assumed the alias Bijoy Das.

Sariful, 30, was arrested on Saturday from Thane near Mumbai after a three-day manhunt involving at least 20 teams from the Mumbai Police. He was produced in court the next day and has been in police custody since then.

On Thursday, police officials said that while they already knew that Shariful was Bangladeshi, they have now found evidence in the form of two identity cards in his name from the country. The first is a National Identity Card which states that Shariful was born on March 3, 1994, and is the son of Mohammed Ruhul Islam.

The second document is a learner’s driver’s licence which reveals that Shariful was a resident of Barisal, a city in south-central Bangladesh. The licence was issued in November 2019 and was supposed to expire in February 2020. The date for his written, oral and practical test for a permanent licence was set for March 18, 2020.

Saif Ali Khan was stabbed six times in the early hours of January 16, allegedly by Sariful, who had entered the actor’s house in the ‘Satguru Sharan’ building in Bandra West with the intention of carrying out a theft. Sariful had demanded Rs 1 crore from the nanny of Saif’s three-year-old son Jehangir, also known as Jeh, and stabbed Mr Khan when he confronted him and grabbed hold of him.

India Entry

Police had earlier said Shariful, who has studied till class 12, had entered India through Meghalaya seven months ago and stayed in West Bengal for some time. He changed his name to Bijoy Das to avoid suspicion and used a local resident’s Aadhaar card to get a mobile phone SIM card.

The 30-year-old then decided to move to Mumbai to search for a job and initially worked in places where he was not required to produce any documents.

Sources had said that after he was caught, Shariful was asked if he was the one who had attacked Mr Khan and he had replied, “Haan, maine hi kiya hai (yes, it was me).” He will be produced in court again on Friday.

Saif Ali Khan, who suffered severe injuries – including to his spine – was discharged from Lilavati Hospital on Tuesday. The 54-year-old actor will now have a police constable staying with him around the clock and he will also use the services of a security firm run by fellow actor Ronit Roy.

The 30-year-old Bangladeshi national, who was arrested on Sunday on charges of attacking Saif Ali Khan after breaking into his house, has told police that he stabbed the actor in his back multiple times in an attempt to free himself from his tight clutches and escape.

Sources in the police said the accused, Mohammad Shariful Islam Shehzad, also hid in the garden of the building housing Mr Khan’s flat, in upscale Bandra, for around two hours before fleeing the area.

Mr Khan, who suffered grievous injuries in the attack that took place in the early hours of Thursday, underwent an emergency surgery at Mumbai’s Lilavati Hospital. 

Doctors said they removed a 2.5-inch piece of a broken knife from his spine during the surgery. If the knife had pierced 2 mm deeper, it could have caused a severe injury, they noted.

The 54-year-old actor was discharged from the hospital and returned home on Tuesday. 

According to a source, Shehzad entered Mr Khan’s flat on the 12th floor in Satguru Sharan building from the bathroom window with an intention to commit robbery. “After he entered the house, the actor’s staff spotted him and started arguing with him. Soon, Saif Ali Khan came there and sensing a threat, he held the accused tightly from the front,” the source said. 

“As the accused did not get time to move, he started stabbing Mr Khan in his back to free himself from the actor’s grip. As Mr  Khan was injured in the attack, the accused managed to break free from his grip,” the source added. 

The source said Mr Khan then quickly locked the main door of his flat, assuming Shehzad was still inside, but the accused managed to flee using the same route through which he had entered. 

“The accused then came down and hid himself in the garden of the building for around two hours before fleeing the spot,” the source added. 

Police had earlier said the accused had entered and exited the flat through a bathroom window, the duct shaft and a ladder he used to enter from the duct.

In her statement to the police, 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 Khan’s attacker.  

On Friday, a carpenter was held as he resembled the screengrab of the suspect from the CCTV footage at the actor’s building, but he was released later as he was found to have no link to the crime. A day later, a suspect was detained in Chhattisgarh’s Durg railway station but was released on Sunday.

After over 70 hours of an intense manhunt, the accused 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.

Senior police officer Dixit Gedam told reporters that Shehzad is a Bangladeshi national. “He does not have any Indian documents. Some things found in his possession show that he is a Bangladeshi national,” Mr Gedam said.  

Police also said the accused has been living in Mumbai for the past four months and had changed his name to Bijoy Das. 

Defence lawyer Sandeep D Sherkhane, however, said the case has been hyped because of the presence of Mr Khan.  

Mr Sherkhane also contended that his client has been residing in the country for several years and has vital documents (for staying in the country), and that his family is also living in India.

Mumbai:

A 30-year-old Bangladeshi national, who was arrested on Sunday on charges of stabbing actor Saif Ali Khan after breaking into his house, has reportedly confessed to the crime, saying “haan, maine hi kiya hai (yes, I did it)”.

According to police sources, Mohammad Shariful Islam Shehzad was arrested from near Hiranandani Estate in Kasarvadavali in Thane, about 35 kilometres from Mr Khan’s house in Mumbai’s Bandra area. The breakthrough came after over 70 hours of an intense manhunt that was launched following the attack during a failed burglary bid in the early hours of Thursday. 

After being caught, when a senior officer asked Shehzad if he was the one who had attacked Mr Khan, the accused said “haan, maine hi kiya hai“, a source said.

The police traced Shehzad to a labour camp in a forested area based on the information provided by a labour contractor. 

As soon as Shehzad got a whiff that a team of 100 policemen had reached and were looking for him in Thane, the accused hid himself in the bushes in a forested area, a source said. “He was arrested after a search operation that lasted for seven hours in the city,” the source added. 

Earlier in the day, senior police officer Dixit Gedam told reporters that Shehzad is a Bangladeshi national. “He does not have any Indian documents. Some things found in his possession show that he is a Bangladeshi national,” Mr Gedam said. 

Police also said the accused has been living in Mumbai for the past four months and had changed his name to Bijoy Das.

Defence lawyer Sandeep D Sherkhane, however, said the case has been hyped because of the presence of Mr Khan. 

Mr Sherkhane also contended that his client has been residing in the country for several years and has vital documents (for staying in the country), and that his family is also living in India.

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

Fifty-four-year-old 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. 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.

In her statement to the police, 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 Khan’s attacker. 

On Friday, a carpenter was held as he resembled the screengrab of the suspect from the CCTV footage at the actor’s building, but he was released later as he was found to have no link to the crime. A day later, a suspect was detained in Chhattisgarh’s Durg railway station but was released on Sunday.

Mumbai:

The man arrested for allegedly breaking into actor Saif Ali Khan’s Mumbai home and stabbing him six times is a Bangladeshi national who entered India illegally and had been living in Mumbai for the past few months, Mumbai Police said today.

Speaking to the media this morning, Deputy Commissioner of Police Dixit Gedam said they have arrested an accused in connection with the burglary attempt at the actor’s Bandra home late on Wednesday night. The accused, he said, had been identified as Mohammad Sariful Islam Shehzad. “The investigation has revealed that this accused could be from Bangladesh. He does not have any Indian document. We suspect he is from Bangladesh, we are investigating and have added Passport Act charges to the case against him,” the senior officer said, adding that the accused entered the actor’s home to commit robbery.

“We have recovered some items from him that suggest he is from Bangladesh. He came to India illegally and changed his name to Bijoy Das. He has been living in Mumbai for about four months and was working at a housekeeping agency,” the senior officer said.

Mr Gedam added that the accused had been arrested from Thane and is now bein questioned.

The intruder had managed to break into the actor’s home through the fire exit at the back. His maid spotted him and screamed. When Mr Khan confronted him, the attacker stabbed him six times and fled. The actor was rushed to the nearby Lilavati Hospital. Doctors have said he is recovering well.

“The robber asked for money and when he was opposed, he attacked the maid Junu and Saif Ali Khan and injured them. Police have taken the accused into custody on the basis of technical evidence. The accused’s name is Shariful Islam Shehzad and he is a Bangladeshi national,” a police statement said, adding that the accused has also been charged under sections relating to illegally entering India.

What Happened That Night

In her statement to the police, Eliyama Philip, who works as a nanny for Saif’s sons, has said she was the first to spot the intruder. The 56-year-old has said was woken up by some noises around 2 am. She saw the bathroom door ajar and the light on and assumed that Kareena Kapoor Khan was checking in on her younger son Jahangir or Jeh.

“… 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, 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?’. He said, ‘I want money.’ I asked, ‘How much do you want?’ He said in English, ‘one crore’,” Ms Philip has said in her statement.

Hearing Ms Philip 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 escape, she said.

An Attack That Shocked Mumbai

The attack on the popular actor has shocked the nation and prompted questions the law and order situation in the Maximum City. From the Opposition to members of the cinema fraternity, several prominent voices have questioned the Devendra Fadnavis government on how safe ordinary people are if celebrities can be attacked like this.

Under fire, the Chief Minister has said, “Among all the megacities in the country, Mumbai is the safest. It is true that some incidents take place sometimes and they should be treated with seriousness but to say, based on one incident, that Mumbai is unsafe would not be correct. This tarnishes Mumbai’s image. But the government is working to make Mumbai even safer.”

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:

New visuals of the man who stabbed actor Saif Ali Khan during a burglary attempt at his home have surfaced as a manhunt to arrest him entered the third day. These include an image showing him in a yellow shirt, but it’s not clear if it was taken before or after the incident. He was again captured on CCTV buying a headphone from a store in Dadar around 9 am, about six hours after the incident.

This is the fourth visual that has emerged since the attack on Mr Khan inside ‘Satguru Sharan’, a 12-story building in Bandra where the actor lives with his wife and actor Kareena Kapoor Khan and sons, Taimur and Jeh. The intruder was seen twice inside – taking the stairs to reach Mr Khan’s floor and fleeing.

Read: 50 Hours On, Saif Ali Khan’s Attacker Still On Run, Was Last Seen At Bandra Station

Later in the day, he was spotted at Bandra railway station wearing new clothes – a blue shirt. He was seen wearing the same shirt at the mobile store in Dadar.

Mr Khan suffered six injuries, including one near his spine, as he tried to fight off the intruder early Thursday morning. The bleeding actor was rushed to a hospital where surgery saved his life. In an update yesterday, doctors said the actor was recovering well and has been able to walk.

A nurse caring for Mr Khan’s younger son Jeh, who had first spotted the accused in the house and confronted him, has described him as a dark-complexioned man with slim build. He was likely to be in his late thirties and was about 5 feet 5 inches tall, according to Eliyama Philips.

Read: “I Am Saif Ali Khan”: When Auto Driver Realised Who His Injured Passenger Was

The cops suspect the attacker had scaled the wall of an adjacent compound and taken the fire shaft to reach the floor where the actor lives, sources said. It is believed he fled the same way.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said yesterday the cops had gathered several clues and will zero in on the suspect soon.

A man with facial similarities to the accused was detained yesterday, leading many to believe that the attacker had been caught. But the cops later said he had nothing to do with the Saif Ali Khan case.

Read: “Police Have Gathered Several Clues”: D Fadnavis On Saif Ali Khan’s Attacker

Mumbai Police has increased the number of teams looking for the accused to 30. The cops are questioning those roaming around in the area at night as well as those in police records. At least 15 people were brought to the police station for questioning yesterday.

The attack has taken a political turn with opposition parties questioning the law-and-order situation in the city. To this, the Chief Minister had replied that it would not be correct to say that Mumbai is unsafe.