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

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.