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 has been living in Mumbai for the past few months, it was announced today Mumbai Police.
Speaking to the media this morning, Deputy Commissioner of Police Dixit Gedam said they have arrested an accused in connection with the attempted burglary at the actor’s house in Bandra on Wednesday evening. The accused, he said, was identified as Mohammad Sariful Islam Shehzad. “Investigation revealed that this accused might be from Bangladesh. He does not have any Indian documents. We suspect that he is from Bangladesh, we are investigating and have added charges under Passport Act to the charges filed against him,” the senior officer said, adding that the accused entered the actor’s house to commit theft.
“We have recovered some items which suggest that he is from Bangladesh. He came to India illegally and changed his name to Bijoy Das. He has been living in Mumbai for around four months and was working in a housekeeping agency,” declared the senior officer. said.
Mr. Gedam added that the accused was arrested from Thane and is now being questioned.
The intruder had managed to enter the actor’s house through the emergency exit located at the back. His servant 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 said he was recovering well.
“The thief demanded money and facing opposition, he attacked the servant girl Junu and Saif Ali Khan and injured them. The police arrested the accused 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 illegal entry into India.
What happened that night
In her statement to police, Eliyama Philip, who works as a nanny for Saif’s sons, said she was the first to spot the intruder. The 56-year-old man said he was awakened by noises around 2 a.m. She saw the bathroom door ajar and the light on and assumed that Kareena Kapoor Khan was watching her youngest son Jahangir or Jeh.
“…then I went back to sleep but, again, I realized something was wrong. So I woke up again and saw a man coming out of the bathroom and going into the boy’s room I quickly got up and went to Jeh’s room The perpetrator then put his finger near his mouth and said “Don’t make any noise, no one will come 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 to attack me,” she said.
“I tried to block the attack by putting my hand forward, but the blade hit me near the wrists of both hands and the middle finger of my left hand,” she explained.
“At that moment 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 said in her statement.
Hearing Ms. Philip screaming, 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 a hexagonal blade, Ms Philip said.
“Saif Sir 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 his house. The intruder then fled, she said.
An attack that shocked Mumbai
The attack on the popular actor shocked the nation and raised questions about the law and order situation in the Maximum City. From the opposition to members of the film fraternity, several prominent voices have questioned the Devendra Fadnavis government about the safety of common citizens if celebrities can be attacked like this.
Under fire, the Chief Minister said, “Among all the megacities in the country, Mumbai is the safest. It is true that some incidents take place sometimes and they need to be treated seriously, but to say, on the basis of one incident, that Mumbai is not safe. This tarnishes the image of Mumbai. But the government is working to make Mumbai even safer.
