Hyderabad:

Actor Saif Ali Khan was admitted to Mumbai’s Lilavati Hospital after being attacked with a knife by an intruder at his home. The Mumbai Police apprehended the attacker in Thane city on Sunday. They identified him as 30-year-old Bangladeshi resident Mohammad Shariful Islam Shehzad. He was later presented before a metropolitan magistrate’s court that same afternoon.

Amid these developments, a photo of Saif Ali Khan with bruises on his face including a black eye has gone viral with the claim that it shows the extent of the actor’s injuries in the attack.

The viral image was shared by a Threads user with the caption, “Saif Ali Khan stabbed: 30 minutes in the dead of night, Rs 1 crore demand, the attack and the escape.”

Similar claims were shared on platforms X and Instagram.

Fact Check

NewsMeter found that the claim is false. The image was Saif Ali Khan’s makeup for his movie Laal Kaptaan in 2019.

A reverse image search of the viral photo led to an X post from October 8, 2019, with the caption, “Behind the scene photos of Saif Ali Khan from Laal Kaptaan.” The post stated that the image showed the actor’s makeup for his role in the film.

Behind the scene photos of Saif Ali Khan from Laal Kaptaan https://t.co/W6ehUYLNo2 pic.twitter.com/moanEUfDQ6

— Saif Ali Khan Online (@SaifOnline) October 8, 2019

Further keyword search led to a report by The Times of India, dated October 8, 2019, titled ‘Mangled and bleeding: Here’s how Saif Ali Khan looked after an intense scene in Laal Kaptaan.’

The report confirmed that the photo was from the 2019 movie where Saif portrayed a Naga Sadhu.

The image, showing his bruised face and an injured eye, was a hot topic of discussion at the time. Many have drawn comparisons between Saif’s dreadlocked, bearded appearance in the movie and Johnny Depp’s iconic look from the ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ franchise.

Other media outlets, including Amar Ujala and Jagran, also reported on Saif Ali Khan’s appearance in Laal Kaptaan, praising the makeup design and detailing how it contributed to his fierce portrayal in the movie.

According to a Reuters report, Saif Ali Khan sustained stab wounds to his spine, neck and hand, as confirmed by the doctors.

The report quoted Dr Nitin Dange, one of the surgeons, who said, “He suffered a significant injury to the thoracic spinal cord caused by a knife lodged in his spine. Surgery was carried out to remove the knife and repair the leaking spinal fluid.” The report did not mention any injuries to Saif Ali Khan’s face.

Additionally, we found that the visuals from the movie Laal Kaptaan featured a similar appearance in some scenes.

Therefore, the claim that the viral image shows Saif Ali Khan’s injuries following a real-life attack is false. The image shows Saif Ali Khan’s makeup for his film Laal Kaptaan in 2019.

(This story was originally published by NewsMeter, and republished by NDTV as part of the Shakti Collective)

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 knife attack on Bollywood star Saif Ali Khan – which doctors at Mumbai’s Lilavati Hospital said left him with six stab wounds, including one near his spinal cord – was not real, Maharashtra Ports Minister Nitesh Rane has alleged, in shocking comments a day after the 54-year-old actor was discharged and returned home.

He accused Mr Khan – whom he seemed to refer to as “garbage” – of “dancing while walking” out of the hospital, and ranted, “I doubted if he had been stabbed… or if he was acting.”

“Look at what Bangladeshis are doing in Mumbai. They entered Saif Ali Khan’s house. Earlier they used to stand at road crossings… now they have started entering houses. Maybe he came to take him (Mr Khan) away. It is good… garbage should be taken away,” the BJP leader said.

#WATCH | Pune: Maharashtra Minister Nitesh Rane says, “Look at what Bangladeshis are doing in Mumbai. They entered Saif Ali Khan’s house. Earlier they used to stand at the crossings of the roads, now they have started entering houses. Maybe he came to take him (Saif) away. It is… pic.twitter.com/XUBwpwQ6RQ

— ANI (@ANI) January 23, 2025

“I saw when he came out of the hospital. I doubted whether he had been stabbed, or he was acting. He was dancing while walking,” he was quoted by news agency ANI.

READ | “If Knife Was 2 mm Deeper…”: Doctors Say Saif Out Of ICU

The crass, and incendiary, comments didn’t end there.

Rane also hit out at NCP leaders Jitendra Awhad and Supriya Sule, accusing them of showing concern only “whenever any Khan, like Shah Rukh Khan or Saif Ali Khan, gets hurt”.

“… everyone starts talking about it then. When a Hindu actor like Sushant Singh Rajput is tortured, no one comes forward to say anything… that Mumbra’s Jeetuddin (a crude reference to Mr Awhad) and Baramati’s Tai (Ms Sule) did not come forward to say anything…”

READ | Held Tightly, Attacker Stabbed Saif In Back To Free Himself: Sources

“Have you ever seen them worrying about any Hindu artist?”

Ajit Pawar Responds

The comments were shrugged off by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, who said, “I don’t know what he said… but if he has something on his mind, he can tell the Home Department.” Mumbai Police reports to the state’s Home Ministry, which is led by Chief Minister and senior BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis.

“The truth, at the moment, is that the person has been arrested. That person had come from Bangladesh… everyone has an attraction towards Mumbai.”

“He needed to go back to Bangladesh after seeing Mumbai (but) needed money,” Mr Pawar said, suggesting Shehzad may have been trying to steal cash to buy a ticket home.

Mr Khan’s nanny had said Shehzad demanded Rs 1 crore when confronted.

READ | Attacker Entered Room Of Saif’s Son Jeh, Wanted Rs 1 Crore: Sources

“Perhaps yesterday, when Saif Ali Khan was going home, looking at his health and clothes it was difficult to guess he was attacked a few days ago. But what happened was true,” Mr Pawar said.

Sanjay Nirupam’s Shocker Too

However, it wasn’t just Nitesh Rane making such comments.

Sanjay Nirupam, who was with the Congress before switching to Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena faction, said, “… the way Saif came out… it seemed nothing happened six days ago.”

Bangladeshi National Arrested

Mr Khan was attacked, the police believe, by Shariful Shehzad, a Bangladeshi national living illegally in India. The cops also believe Shehzad, who said he didn’t know he was in the actor’s home, was trying to burgle it when he was confronted, first by the nanny and then Mr Khan.

Shehzad has been arrested and is in police custody; he was tracked down to Thane after leading the cops on a long-winded chase through parts of Mumbai as he tried to return to Bangladesh.

READ | Paratha By UPI Payment: How Cops Caught Saif Attack Suspect

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)”.

With input from agencies

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