- Sunday, January 19, 2025
Preliminary investigation suggests that the man was unaware that he had entered a Bollywood star’s house and his intention was theft
By: India Weekly
MUMBAI police on Sunday (19) said a 30-year-old Bangladeshi national has been arrested for allegedly stabbing actor Saif Ali Khan at his residence in Bandra suburb.
Preliminary investigation suggests that the man was unaware that he had entered a Bollywood star’s house and his intention was theft, a senior police official told reporters.
He said the attacker was nabbed at Hiranandani Estate on Ghodbandar Road in neighbouring Thane district.
The official said the man had changed his name, Shariful Islam Shehzad Mohammad Rohilla Amin Fakir, to Vijay Das after he entered India.
He said the accused, who hails from Jhalokati in Bangladesh, had been living in Mumbai for more than five months, doing petty jobs and was attached to a housekeeping agency.
The police have registered a case against the accused under sections 311 (robbery or dacoity with the intent to cause grievous hurt or death, 331(4) (house-breaking) and other relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita and Passport Act, 1967, the official said.
The police had formed multiple teams to trace the accused, who had eluded them for more than two days.
The official said the accused was brought to Khar police station, where interrogation is underway to find out how he reached the actor’s flat and other details.
He would be produced before a court where police would seek custody, he said.
Another police official said a labour contractor helped them track down the attacker.
During the probe, the police found that the accused was seen outside Dadar railway station thrice and had gone to Worli Koliwada.
The police examined hundreds of CCTV footage and found out that the attacker had visited a labour contractor in the area.
The contractor gave the police all the details about the attacker, and based on his direction, the police traced him to a labour camp in a forested area in Thane, from where he was apprehended.
The official said the accused had worked for a Thane-based hotel in the past, and so far, no criminal record in his name has come to light.
The Bollywood star was repeatedly stabbed with a knife by the intruder inside his 12th-floor apartment in upscale Bandra early Thursday in a shocking attack that raised intriguing questions about security, motive, and celebrity life.
Khan, 54, underwent emergency surgery at the Lilavati Hospital, where he was rushed following the incident that took place around 2.30 am at his apartment in the ‘Satguru Sharan’ building.
The doctors had removed a 2.5-inch piece of a broken knife from his spine. He is recovering and may be discharged soon, doctors said.
The police recovered the remaining part of the knife from Bollywood actor’s house during the probe. (PTI)
