Mumbai:

The 31-year-old man who was detained in Chhattisgarh as a suspect in the Saif Ali Khan case earlier this month said the police action has cost him his job and a marriage proposal, brought immense disrepute to his family, and left him with an “unbearable dangerous feeling”. 

In an exclusive interview to NDTV, Akash Kanojia, who was briefly detained and interrogated, said his photograph was widely circulated despite having no involvement in the crime. “Why was my photo made viral? I want justice,” he said, threatening to move court if his photograph was not brought down by all those who shared it across various online platforms.

He also sought to know if police would have acted in a similar way had a VIP or a millionaire’s son been a suspect in the case.

On January 18, Mr Kanojia was detained from Mumbai Lokmanya Tilak Terminus-Kolkata Shalimar Jnaneswari Express at Chhattisgarh’s Durg station by the Railway Protection Force (RPF) after a tip off from Mumbai police, two days after Mr Khan was stabbed by an intruder at his residence in Bandra.

He was released a day later, with Mumbai Police officials saying he was just a suspect. Days later and after over 70 hours of an intense manhunt, a 30-year-old man, who was later identified as a Bangladeshi national, was arrested in connection with the attack.

Mr Kanojia, however, said the police action had severe repercussions and left him and his family traumatised.

He said he lost his job as a driver. He said his marriage was fixed but the prospective bride’s family called it off after he was detained in the case. He added that his relatives and friends are hesitant to meet or maintain ties with him and his family.

“Whatever happened to me should not happen to anyone else. I am a poor man, and that’s why I had to see such days. What if there was a VIP or a millionaire’s son in my place, what would they (police) have done? Such things happened to me today but they should not happen to anyone tomorrow. After such treatment, that dangerous feeling you get is unbearable,” he said. 

“I was defamed so much. It is a question of someone’s life. I was not wrong. I had not committed any crime. Then why was my photo made viral? I am not capable of committing such crimes,” he added. 

He requested all those who circulated his photograph across platforms to delete it. “Otherwise there is only one last stop – court. I’ll have to knock on the court’s door,” he said. 

Mr Kanojia recalled the events that led to his detention. He said he was travelling on the Mumbai Lokmanya Tilak Terminus-Kolkata Shalimar Jnaneshwari Express when he was cornered by the RPF men. “They showed me my photograph. I told him I am Akash Kanojia. They asked me to get off the train. When I asked them why, they said the Mumbai Police have asked them to locate me. Since I knew that the RPF was doing its duty, I agreed to go with them,” he said. 

“After this, the RPF took me with them. They told me that they would not ask me anything or initiate any action against me. They asked if I was just running away? I asked them why would I run? I told them that if they think I have done something wrong, then they should call the Mumbai cops. As the cops came, I was interrogated. I told them I did not commit the crime,” he said. 

Mr Kanojia said he asked the cops to take him to the actor to verify if he had carried out the attack. “I said that if he (Mr Khan) says that it was me who attacked him, then the police can blame me for all the crimes that took place in Mumbai that day. Why should I accept something that I have not done. After this, I was allowed to go home,” he said. 

Mr Kanojia’s father, Kailash, earlier criticised the cops for “ruining my son’s life”. 

“The police detained my son without verifying his identity. This mistake has ruined his life. Now, due to the mental trauma, Akash is unable to focus on work or communicate with his family. He has become withdrawn, doesn’t talk properly, and has lost all motivation,” he told PTI. 

“People are saying there is no resemblance between my son and the actual accused. He lost his job and his marriage was called off. Who is responsible? The behaviour of the police has destroyed Akash’s future,” he added. 

Speaking to reporters earlier, Mumbai police sub inspector Pradeep Fude 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.” 

On January 16, Mr Khan suffered grievous injuries, after he was stabbed six times reportedly by Islam, during a failed burglary attempt at the actor’s 12th floor residence in “Satguru Sharan” building in upscale Bandra. 

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

Days later on January 19, Sariful Islam, a Bangladeshi national, was arrested from near Hiranandani Estate in Kasarvadavali in Thane, about 35 kilometres from Mr Khan’s house in Bandra. He was subsequently remanded in police custody. 

Islam’s father, however, said his son is being framed for reasons unknown to him.

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.)

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)

Kolkata:

Shariful Islam Shehzad – the illegal migrant from Bangladesh accused of stabbing Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan last week during a home invasion – is a member of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, his father, Mohammed Ruhul Amin, said Friday in a telephone conversation with NDTV.

Mr Amin said his son – whom he described as 30 years old, with a “heavy” face and long hair, and insisted is not the man Mumbai Police have arrested – fled Bangladesh in March last year.

Police sources told NDTV earlier Shehzad entered India via Meghalaya – he crossed the Dawki River – and stayed in Bengal for a few weeks before making his way to Mumbai in search of a job.

Speaking to NDTV today, his father seemed to suggest Shehzad fled to escape political persecution at the hands of the then-ruling Awami League of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who was deposed in August and is also in India. Ex-Prime Minister Khaleda Zia’s BNP was then in the opposition.

“Felt He Couldn’t Live In Bangladesh”

“My son went to India in 2024… in the last week of March or first week of April. He had only intention. For 16 years the Hasina government was in power. There were false cases… even mobile theft cases (against him). The political atmosphere was bad (and) my son felt he could not live in the country.”

“So then, at that time, he decided to go to India (to find a job),” he said.

The authorities – who say they have recovered Bangladeshi government documents confirming Shehzad’s nationality – believe he has since been living in India under the name Bijoy Das.

READ | Entered India Illegally, Changed Name: How Saif’s Attacker Hid

Asked if Shehzad fled because of the cases against him, Mr Amin said, “No, he did not.”

“There was (also) a lot of torture. There were cases against him for no crimes. My two sons and I work for the BNP… I hold a post and there were a lot of false cases (against me also).”

“Man In CCTV Footage Not My Son”

Mr Amin also insisted the man caught on CCTV cameras at Saif Ali Khan’s residence – whom the police arrested from Thane Sunday, after tracking him down thanks to a UPI payment for a paratha and some water – is not his son. “The CCTV pictures are not of my son,” he told NDTV.

READ | Paid For Paratha With UPI: How Cops Caught Saif Attack Suspect

“His age is 30. From an early age, his face is heavy, and he has hair on both sides (but it is short) … In the photo (the CCTV footage) the hair reaches till the eyes. That kind of hair is not my son’s. (So) no, it is not him,” he said, repeating what he told news agency IANS a day earlier.

(L) CCTV footage of the suspect, (R) Shariful Shehzad, accused of stabbing Saif

“… my son never keeps his hair long. I believe my son is being framed,” he had said.

READ | “Man On CCTV Doesn’t Look Like My Son’: Saif’s Attacker’s Father 

He also indicated then Shehzad worked in the hospitality industry; he noted the hotels in Mumbai were larger and paid better than in Bengal, or Kolkata, which led many to that belief.

And when NDTV asked him if police from India had informed him of his son’s arrest, he said: “No. No one has come. We don’t know anyone in India. We have no support there.”

Political Squabbles

Shehzad’s Bangladeshi nationality has also triggered a political row between the BJP-led alliance in power in Maharashtra and the opposition. This week BJP leader and Maharashtra Ports Minister Nitesh Rane suggested the attack on Mr Khan was ‘not real’, and seemed to refer to him as “garbage”. 

“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 are entering houses. Maybe he came to take him (Mr Khan) away. It is good… garbage should be taken away,” he said.

The Bangladeshi nationality angle has fed into a ongoing row between the BJP and the opposition over border security. The latter has alleged the thousands trying to cross illegally since Sheikh Hasina was overthrown are being courted by the opposition, including Bengal’s ruling Trinamool, as a vote bank.

Court Extends Police Custody

A Mumbai court, this afternoon, extended police custody of Shehzad till January 29. The court said the cops needed more time to recover crucial evidence, including some of his clothing.

READ | Saif Ali Khan Attacker Jailed For 5 Days, Claims He Is Being Framed

Like his father, Shehzad’s lawyer has been equally insistent his client is innocent, and is being made a scapegoat in response to furore over the attack on a prominent celebrity living in Bandra West – one of Mumbai’s most exclusive neighbourhoods. However, according to some reports, Shehzad has confessed (which is not admissible in court), telling cops, “…haan, maine hi kiya hai (yes, I did it)”.

Saif Ali Khan suffered six stab wounds, including one near his spinal cord, in the attack, and had to be rushed into emergency surgery. He was discharged five days later and is back home.

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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.

Actor Saif Ali Khan was stabbed in five places – back, wrist, neck, shoulder, and elbow – and was taken to Lilavati Hospital in Mumbai in an autorickshaw by his friend Afsar Zaidi, reveals the actor’s medical report. 

“The injuries range from 0.5 cm to 15 cm in size. On the night of the attack, Saif’s friend Afsar Zaidi took him to Lilavati Hospital at 4:11 AM and completed the formalities,” said the report, ending the speculation as to who accompanied the actor to the hospital on the night of the attack last week. 

The Bollywood actor was repeatedly stabbed in an apparent burglary at his home in Mumbai on January 16. His alleged attacker Sariful Islam, who had illegally entered India from Bangladesh last year and assumed the alias Bijoy Das, was arrested on Saturday from Thane near Mumbai after a three-day manhunt involving at least 20 teams from the Mumbai Police.

Mr Khan, 54, who has appeared in more than 70 movies and television series, was back home from the hospital on Tuesday. 

Mumbai police has deployed two constables outside the Bandra residence of the actor.

“We have provided temporary police protection outside Saif Ali Khan’s Satguru Sharan building in Bandra West. Two constables from Bandra police station will be posted there in two shifts. CCTV cameras and widow grills have also be installed as part of security,” said a senior police official. 

The actor has expressed his gratitude to autorickshaw driver Bhajan Singh Rana, who rushed him to the hospital on the night of the attack last week.

“Let people say that he (Saif) gave me Rs 50,000 or Rs 1,00,000, but I would not like to reveal the amount. He has requested me to not share this information and I’ll keep my promise to him, whatever it is, it is between him and me,” said Mr Rana, who shares a one-room flat in Khar with four other roommates.

The autorickshaw driver had the opportunity to meet the actor and his family on Tuesday, shortly before Mr Khan was released from the hospital. 

“I met him (Saif) yesterday (Tuesday) at the hospital. He called to thank me for taking him to the hospital. He praised me. I got the blessings from him and his family. He (Khan) introduced me to his mother (Sharmila Tagore), and I touched her feet. He gave me (money) whatever he felt was right, and said whenever I need help he will be there,” the autorickshaw driver said.

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.

New Delhi:

As actor Saif Ali Khan recovers, mentally and physically, from a shocking knife attack during a burglary attempt at his Mumbai home, he faces a legal fight over his family’s property in Bhopal, estimated to be worth around Rs 15,000 crore.

The Madhya Pradesh High Court recently lifted the stay on his ancestral property and the actor may lose it to the government under the Enemy Property Act, 1968.

A Legal Headache For Saif Ali Khan

The actor’s family owns multiple properties in Bhopal, including the Flag Staff House, where he spent his childhood, Noor-Us-Sabah Palace, Dar-Us-Salam, Bungalow of Habibi, Ahmedabad Palace and Kohefiza Property, among others. Mr Khan inherited this property from his grandmother Sajida Sultan. Sajida Sultan was the daughter of Bhopal’s last Nawab Hamidullah Khan. Hamidullah Khan’s eldest daughter, Abida Sultan, migrated to Pakistan in 1950. Her sister, Sajida, stayed on in India and married Iftikhar Ali Khan Pataudi, the Nawab of Pataudi and Mr Khan’s grandfather. Sajida inherited her father’s property and this passed on to Mr Khan. In 2015, however, it was declared that Abida was the legal heir to her father’s assets and since she migrated to Pakistan, they can be acquired by the government under the Enemy Property Act. A 2019 order recognised Sajida as the heir and brought relief to the family.

But the latest order is a fresh headache for the family and Mr Khan and his mother and veteran actor Sharmila Tagore must navigate this to reclaim their family property. For clarity, the Enemy Property Act allows the Centre to claim properties owned by individuals who migrated to Pakistan post-Partition.

‘A Nawab With No Inheritance’

In a 2019 interview with Midday, Mr Khan had said that he had buy back the Pataudi Palace in Gurugram after the death of his father and ace cricketer Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi. “When my father died, it was rented to the Neemrana Group of Hotels.” He said that the hotel group told him that if he wanted it back, he would have to pay “lots of money”. “I then earned and… so even the house that’s supposedly inherited has been earned back through money from films,” he said. “There was nothing, there is some history and culture, beautiful photographs and of course, some land and it has been a privileged upbringing, but there has been no inheritance,” the actor said.

The actor has said he was born in Mumbai, but subsequently lived in Bhopal, Pataudi (Gurugram) and Delhi. Mr Khan said during the interview that it was his grandmother, Sajida, who was looking after the family’s properties in Bhopal. “When she got old, we moved to Delhi to live with her. Nice, big old house in Delhi which she had been given for her lifetime. in return for land and property and all those kind of deals that these old families had made with the Indian government.”

Saif’s Chat With NDTV When He Became Nawab

NDTV caught up with Mr Khan in October 2011, shortly after his father died and he became the titular Nawab of Pataudi. Speaking to veteran journalist Shekhar Gupta in the popular show Walk The Talk, Mr Khan spoke about his father’s death due to an acute lung infection. “It’s possibly one of the most disturbing and painful ways to go. It seems to have a mind of its own, this disease. It can either stall or accelerate, we don’t know anything about it,” he said.

During the same interview, Mr Khan had explained how his family approached their nawab status. “My grandfather was more famous for getting a hundred against the Australians and then saying he doesn’t want to play bodyline. So gentlemanly act of genuine chivalry.” Iftikhar Ali Khan Pataudi is the only Test cricketer to have played for both India and England.

“My father was, again, less as a nawab, of course there is his lungi and kurta and his liking for classical music,” he said.

Saif Ali Khan with parents Tiger Pataudi and Sharmila Tagore and sisters Soha and Saba

Saif Ali Khan’s ‘Nawabzade’ anecdote

In the same interview, Mr Khan had said films show nawabs with a negative connotation and narrated an awkward incident during the shooting of the 2000 film Kya Kehna. “There was a dialogue in which one of the chaps catches me because I am not being very nice to his sister and says, haraamzada (meaning bastard). There were some sensor problems and we had to dub over haraamzada. The producer, director said ‘just say nawabzaada, it’s the same thing’. I said, ‘really?’ It’s quite funny.

Mr Khan also remembered his father’s sense of humour. “There was that story about when he dislocated his shoulder and he was in hospital and they were trying to put it back. He was shouting in pain. The doctors said to him, ‘Tiger, there is a woman who has given birth to twins and she is not making as much noise as you are.’. He said, ‘tell her to try putting them back’.

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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Mumbai:

A third piece of a knife used to attack and injure Saif Ali Khan at his residence last week was recovered from a lake situated near the actor’s Bandra residence.

The police recovered the piece of knife from a trench near Bandra lake, which is around a kilometre away from the actor’s Satguru Sharan home. One piece of knife, measuring 2.5 inches, was recovered from the actor’s body during treatment at the Lilavati Hospital. Police took the accused Mohammad Shariful to the lake on Wednesday and remained at the spot for around one-and-a-half hours.

The police also questioned a salon owner from Worli Koliwada regarding Shariful visiting him to get a haircut after committing the crime, as per sources. The accused allegedly cut his hair and changed his appearance to remain under the radar. The 30-year-old Bangladeshi national illegally entered India last year and assumed the alias Vijay Das.

Mr Khan was attacked by Shariful on January 16 at his residence, while he was trying to protect his younger son Jeh during an attempted robbery. As per the child’s nanny’s statement to the police, the attacker had asked for an amount of Rs 1 crore. While an early assessment of CCTV footage could not find any trace of an intruder, the accused was traced through a stairwell CCTV camera. He had allegedly scaled the compound wall and snuck past security guards who were asleep.

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Mr Khan was rushed to Lilavati Hospital, where he underwent two surgeries, one to remove a piece of knife and another to stop the leakage of spinal fluid. He was discharged on Wednesday, before which he met auto-rickshaw driver Bhajan Singh Rana, who had rushed him to the hospital on the night of the attack.

Police have announced that multiple departments from the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) in Kalina will analyse key evidence related to the case, including mobile phones, the accused’s clothing, and CCTV footage. Various forensic departments will be involved in the examination, as investigators face challenges in interrogating Fakir due to language barriers On Tuesday, police reconstructed the sequence of events leading to the attack at Khan’s apartment building, ‘Satguru Sharan,’ with the accused briefly taken to a nearby location to recreate the crime scene.

Police on Tuesday also reconstructed the sequence of events of the crime unfolded at Khan’s building in Bandra. The accused was taken to a nearby building briefly during the recreation of the crime, the official added.

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. According to the police, the accused attempted to enter three houses before reaching Saif Ali Khan’s residence with the intent to steal.