Mumbai:
Days after Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan was stabbed multiple times at his Mumbai home, a suspect has been arrested in Chhattisgarh. The 54-year-old actor suffered multiple stab wounds, including on his neck and near the spine, after an intruder entered his luxury home in Bandra and attacked him in the early hours of Thursday.
The suspect, identified as 31-year-old Aakash Kailash Kannojia, has been held at Durg railway station.
Sources in the Railway Protection Force (RPF) have claimed that the suspect “was apprehended from the Mumbai-Howrah Jnaneswari Express led by Mumbai Police. Around 2 p.m., when the train reached Durg, the suspect – who was in the cabin sat” general department – disembarked and immediately taken into custody. He is being interrogated”. “The Mumbai Police had sent the suspect's photo, train number and location to the RPF after which he was arrested. He is currently in RPF custody,” she added.
The suspect had to talk to the Mumbai Police through a video call. A Mumbai police team is on its way to Durg to confirm whether the detainee is the person involved in the incident or someone else. It will reach Durg around 8 pm, the sources said.
The actor was rushed to Lilavati Hospital in an autorickshaw, where he underwent emergency surgery. After a five-hour operation, a 6.5cm piece of the blade was removed from his spine. Saif Ali Khan – who was stabbed six times – is recovering well, say doctors treating him.
The intruder was seen twice inside the building – where Mr Khan lives with his actor wife Kareena Kapoor Khan and sons Taimur and Jeh – taking the stairs to reach his apartment and escape. His face was captured on CCTV footage that surfaced on Thursday, showing him wearing a red scarf and a backpack and running down the stairs at around 2.30am.
Later in the day, he was spotted at Bandra railway station. In another photo, he was seen at Dadar railway station. It was suspected that he had taken a train from Mumbai.
Yesterday, some reports claimed the attacker had been arrested after police detained a man for questioning. However, an official refuted the claim, saying that the man in question is a carpenter by profession and had worked at the actor's home two days before the stabbing incident.
Waris Ali Salmani had been working 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 job, the official said.
Hours after the interrogation, police took him to an undisclosed location, he said.
Kareena Kapoor Khan recorded her statement with the Mumbai Police last night, in which she recalled seeing the intruder stab Mr Khan repeatedly. “The attacker was aggressive. I saw him attack Saif repeatedly… Our priority was to take Saif to hospital,” she said.
She also said he fled without taking any valuables.
Mrs Kapoor Khan also said that she went to her sister Karisma's house after Saif Ali Khan was taken to hospital as she was “terrified”. In a video, Kareena Kapoor Khan was seen talking to her domestic staff who were standing next to the autorickshaw.
“After the attack I was terrified, so Karisma took me to her house,” she said.
More than 30 teams have been formed to track down and capture the attacker. Maharashtra Home Minister (Urban) Yogesh Kadam said robbery was the motive behind the incident and clarified that no underworld gang was involved in the knife attack.