Soha Ali Khan, Bollywood actor and sister of actor Saif Ali Khan, at the Lilavati Hospital where Saif was admitted after he was injured in an attack by an intruder with a knife in Mumbai.
LIVE | Attack on Saif: Man detained was carpenter who worked in actor's home
Actor sustained six stab injuries including one on his left hand and another on his neck
Mumbai police announced on Friday that the suspect detained in connection with the knife attack on actor Saif Ali Khan has been released, stating that "he has no link to the case."
The man, whose identity is yet to be established, was taken to the Bandra police station. He was detained after police questioned several people who resembled the attacker, the official said.
The man brought into the Bandra police station was carrying a backpack similar to the one seen in the CCTV footage from the actor’s building, the official said.
Intrusion and attack
Khan, 54, was repeatedly stabbed by an intruder in his high-rise apartment in upscale Bandra early on Thursday (January 16) and rushed to hospital with the blade still lodged in his spine.
Also read: Celebrity attack: Saif Ali Khan stabbing incident is latest in series
The 54-year-old, who received six stab injuries, including in his neck, was out of danger following an emergency surgery at the Lilavati Hospital where he was taken after the attack outside his younger son Jeh's room around 2.30 am.
CCTV footage showed the alleged assailant, wearing a red scarf and carrying a backpack, scurrying down the stairs from the sixth floor of the Satguru Sharan building where Saif lives.
20 teams working on case
The city police had formed 20 teams to track down and nab the intruder.
The crime branch and the local police also gathered technical data, including how many mobile phones were active in the area when the actor was attacked in what has been dubbed as a “burglary attempt” at his apartment housed in ‘Satguru Sharan’ building.
Saif out of ICU; ‘walked in like a lion’
Meanwhile doctors have said that Saif has been shifted from the Lilavati Hospital’s Intensive Care Unit (ICU) to a special room.
"Saif Ali Khan is doing excellent. We made him walk and he walked well. There is no problem and not much pain," Dr Nitin Narayan Dange told reporters on Friday.
Also read: Saif attack: How did intruder breach 4 levels of security?
Dange, however, said that hospital has restricted the entry of visitors to meet Saif for almost a week due to the spine injury which has a potential of developing infection.
Describing the events of Thursday when Saif was rushed to the hospital by son Ibrahim and his house staff in an auto-rickshaw, Niraj Uttamani, Chief Operating Officer of Lilavati Hospital said “He was soaked in blood when he arrived in the hospital. But he walked in like a lion. He is a real hero.”
Uttamani said if the knife had penetrated 2 mm deeper, Saif would have sustained a serious injury.
Follow this space for more live inputs
Live Updates
- 17 Jan 2025 3:09 PM GMT
Police have got several clues in case: CM Fadnavis
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday said the police have got several clues in the Saif Ali Khan attack case, and will arrest the culprit soon.
Fadnavis, who holds the home portfolio, was talking to the media.
"Police investigation is going on...they have got many clues and I feel the police will very soon zero in (on the culprit)," the chief minister said, replying to a question.
- 17 Jan 2025 3:03 PM GMT
Second CCTV image of suspect emerges
A second image of the suspect captured by CCTV cameras at Saif’s building has emerged.
The image is said to have been captured while the suspect was trying to flee the building after attacking the actor.
- 17 Jan 2025 1:30 PM GMT
Police detained carpenter who worked in actor's house
The man picked up for questioning by the police in connection with the knife attack on Saif Ali Khan is a carpenter by profession and had worked at his flat two days before the stabbing incident, an official has said.
The official identified the man as Waris Ali Salmani and said he was taken to the Bandra police station for questioning after he resembled the intruder who stabbed Khan (54) multiple times in his 12th floor apartment in the early hours of Thursday during a robbery attempt.
The attacker's face was clearly captured in CCTV footage which surfaced on Thursday.
The video showed the assailant, wearing a red scarf and carrying a backpack, scurrying down the stairs from the sixth floor of the 'Satguru Sharan' building, where Khan lives, at around 2.30 am.
Salmani had worked at the actor's flat two days before the incident and was informed about the attack by the contractor who had hired him for the carpentry assignment, the official said.
Hours after questioning, police took him to an undisclosed location, he said. A second official, on condition of anonymity, however said the man brought to the Bandra police station for questioning was not related to the attack on Khan, who is recovering at Lilavati Hospital.
- 17 Jan 2025 10:11 AM GMT
Theft only motive, no other angle: Miinister
No underworld gang is behind the knife attack on Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan, Maharashtra minister of state for home Yogesh Kadam said on Friday.
“There has been no intimation from Saif Ali Khan to police till date on whether he faced any threat,” the minister said. “He has not sought any security cover, but if he does so, we will follow due procedure,” he added.
Kadam said theft was the only motive behind the attack on the actor.
- 17 Jan 2025 9:56 AM GMT
Suspect detained not connected to Saif incident: Police
Mumbai police now say that the suspect who was detained is not connected to the Saif stabbing incident. A Times of India report says the suspect has been released.
- 17 Jan 2025 9:06 AM GMT
Update on Saif's health
Doctors have said that Saif Ali Khan is doing "very well" and his parameters have improved.
"Today, we will restrict visitors as we want Saif to rest. He has to take rest due to knife-inflicted wounds, especially in the back which can have chances of infection, they added.
