Saif Ali Khan's mother and actor Sharmila Tagore at Lilavati Hospital in Mumbai on Friday. PTI Photo
LIVE | Attack on Saif: Actor may get discharged in three days
SaF Ali Khan is recovering well at Lilavati Hospital, where he was taken after the brutal attack by an intruder in the early hours of Thursday that left him with multiple wounds
The intruder who stabbed Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan at his home in Mumbai remains at large despite more than 30 teams on the lookout for him, while a Maharashtra minister ruled out underworld link to the brutal attack.
The attacker was not working for any criminal gang and probably was not even aware whose house he had entered, police said on Friday, citing their investigation carried out so far.
Carpenter picked up, released later
Police picked up a carpenter in connection with the attack on Khan (54) at his apartment in the wee hours of Thursday as he resembled the intruder and brought him to the Bandra police station for questioning on Friday morning but released him later.
A senior police official clarified that the man was not related to the attack on Khan, and no one has been arrested so far.
"The person detained has been released. He was picked up as he looked like the intruder captured in the CCTV footage. But he had an alibi, which was verified by the police.
Based on that, the detained person has been released. Our probe is still on. We are looking at all angles," said the senior official.
"This seems to be a stray incident. The alleged intruder was not working for any gang, as per the prima facie investigation. He probably was not even aware whose house he had entered in," he added.
30 teams on prowl
He said more than 30 teams have been formed to track down and nab the attacker, who stabbed Khan in his 12th-floor apartment during a robbery attempt.
The attacker's face was captured in CCTV footage. 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.
Follow this space for more live inputs
Live Updates
- 16 Jan 2025 12:40 PM GMT
Who is Saif’s attacker?
While police are yet to identify the attacker, they have released a CCTV footage of him going down the building’s staircase, to the media.
The CCTV footage, the attacker is seen alighting from the stairwell of the actor’s building at around 2.33 am on Thursday. The suspect is dressed in jeans and t-shirt and seems to be carrying a backpack.
While police have dubbed it a burglary attempt, some reports said the attacker was related to one of the staff at Saif’s house. The staffer is being questioned.
- 16 Jan 2025 12:17 PM GMT
#WATCH | Delhi: On AAP National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal's statements on the attack on Actor Saif Ali Khan, Union Minister Manohar Lal Khattar says, " If he wants to see the double engine govt, he should go and look in Haryana...we implemented various schemes for the welfare of… pic.twitter.com/BwoKhVd3P0
— ANI (@ANI) January 16, 2025 - 16 Jan 2025 12:05 PM GMT
#WATCH | On the attack on actor #SaifAliKhan, Odia actor and BJP MLA Sidhant Mohapatra says, "It's quite unfortunate. I pray to God for his speedy recovery. Right now, I don't know exactly with what intention this has been done by the criminal. I think the Police is good enough… pic.twitter.com/HwDFc54fnc
— ANI (@ANI) January 16, 2025 - 16 Jan 2025 12:05 PM GMT
Mumbai becoming crime capital: Pramod Tiwari
Mumbai is becoming a capital of crime... It seems that no one is safe in Delhi. The law-and-order situation there is in shambles.... This is a complete failure of BJP: Congress leader Pramod Tiwari
- 16 Jan 2025 11:17 AM GMT
Police find visuals of intruder; `no forced entry in house'
CCTV visuals of the unidentified intruder who repeatedly stabbed actor Saif Ali Khan inside his house in Mumbai's Bandra area early Thursday morning have been traced and 10 teams have been formed to investigate the offence, police said.
As per the preliminary probe, the intruder did not force his entry or break into the actor's 12th floor flat in Satguru Sharan building, but possibly sneaked in at some point earlier in the night, a police official said.
After the incident that took place around 2.30 am, the attacker took the staircase to escape. His CCTV visuals were traced on the sixth floor, police sources said.
Khan's house-help, who raised initial alarm, suffered a minor knife injury during the scuffle. She later visited the police station to lodge a complaint for alleged attempted murder and trespassing. Police, however, did not confirm the sections under which the First Information Report was registered.
The actor's representatives, in a media statement, said it was a "burglary attempt." As per the doctors at the Lilavati Hospital where Khan was rushed, he was out of danger after undergoing a surgery for removing the knife stuck in his back.
- 16 Jan 2025 11:11 AM GMT
Oppn politicising issue; no need to link it to attacks on Baba Siddique, Salman Khan: Minister
Maharashtra Minister of State for Home Yogesh Kadam on Thursday said the opposition was trying to politicise the attack on actor Saif Ali Khan, and claimed a wrong angle was being given to the case because of the actor's surname.
The incident was a "theft attempt", and the culprit has been identified and will be nabbed soon, Kadam told a TV channel.
Mumbai is a safe place, the minister asserted, and claimed the opposition was trying to malign the police.
Kadam said there was no need to link the attack on Saif Ali Khan to former state minister Baba Siddique's murder and threats issued to actor Salman Khan.
"The intruder has been identified and will be nabbed soon," he said and claimed that because of the actor's Khan surname, a wrong angle was being given to the case.
"The opposition only wants to politicise the incident. Mumbai is safe and the opposition is maligning the police," he added.
NCP (SP) leader Jitendra Awhad claimed the kind of injuries sustained by Saif Ali Khan shows the attacker wanted to kill him.
In a post on X, Awhad, who is the group leader of the opposition NCP (SP) in the Maharashtra assembly, claimed Khan has been targeted by fundamentalists over the naming of his son as Taimur.
Khan has suffered six injuries out of which two are severe and one is in his spine, he said.
"Prima facie it shows that the attacker wanted to kill him," Awhad said, adding that it needs to be probed if the attack was pre-planned.
- 16 Jan 2025 11:08 AM GMT
Crimes on rise, but Fadnavis busy promoting films: Maharashtra Congress chief
Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole on Thursday claimed the attack on actor Saif Ali Khan has exposed the “breakdown” in law and order in Maharashtra, where he said celebrities, leaders of the ruling party, and citizens are unsafe.
The Congress leader demanded that Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, whom he termed “ineffective” and "weak", resign as the home minister as the rising crime rate in the state reflects the government’s failure.
The chief minister should have the courage to take concrete action instead of making hollow statements, Patole said in a statement.
Patole said the attack on the Padma Shri award-winning actor is a glaring example of the “breakdown” of law and order in Maharashtra.
“If such incidents occur in the bustling area of Bandra in Mumbai, who is safe in the city? Looking at the increasing crime rates in Mumbai, Pune, Beed, Parbhani, and Nagpur, one wonders if there is a home minister in the state at all,” Patole said.
The BJP-led Mahayuti government has allowed lawlessness to thrive, and the attack on Khan is a direct challenge to the state's law and order machinery by criminals, he claimed.
The Congress leader said criminals have become brazen under the BJP regime. “The Chief Minister and Home Minister Devendra Fadnavis along with their favoured Director General of Police, have proven to be utterly ineffective,” he said.
Despite having two police commissioners in Mumbai, neither the state nor Mumbai has an effective law and order machinery.
“The growing organised crime in Beed, political backing for criminals, custodial deaths in Parbhani, the assassination of former minister Baba Siddique in Bandra, and the firing at Salman Khan's residence are serious incidents. Fadnavis has failed as the Home Minister. In Maharashtra, celebrities, leaders of the ruling party, and common citizens alike are unsafe,” he claimed.
Instead of repeating statements like “criminals won’t be spared; strict action will be taken”, the chief minister must muster the courage to take strong action, said Patole.
“With rising crime rates in the state, it is evident that Fadnavis is not taking the situation seriously. After the life-threatening attack on actor Saif Ali Khan, rather than addressing the issue, CM Fadnavis was busy promoting films,” claimed the Congress leader, referring to Fadnavis attending a special screening of Kangana Ranaut's movie Emergency.
