Attack on Saif Ali Khan: Cops hunting for knife’s missing piece, attacker’s clothes

The knife used to allegedly attack Saif Ali Khan in his Bandra home by the 30-year-old suspect had split into three pieces, according to the Bandra police

MUMBAI: The knife used to allegedly attack Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan in his Bandra home by the 30-year-old suspect had split into three pieces, according to the Bandra police. They are searching for the third piece, the handle, taken away by the intruder while fleeing. Of the other two, piece, one was lodged in the actor’s back during the attack, and the other was found in his house on Friday, more than 24 hours after the stabbing.

Shariful Islam Shehzad Mohammad, a 30-year-old Bangladeshi nationalist, was brought to the Bandra Court from the Khar police station. (Photo by Raju Shinde/HT Photo)

Bandra police are also searching for the bloodstained clothes worn by the assailant, Shariful Islam Shehzad Mohammed Rohilla Amin Fakir, 30, alias Bijoy Das, as they would have Saif’s blood and DNA on them. Police told this to a city court on Sunday while producing the accused, who is allegedly a Bangladeshi national, for remand.

On Sunday, a frail- looking Shariful was produced before Bandra magistrate KK Patil, who remanded him to police custody for five days.

According to the remand application, and arguments that ensued for over 20 minutes during the remand hearing, police requested Shariful’s custody for 14 days as they claimed to have evidence that he was from Bangladesh. They said they wanted to investigate his motive for coming to India illegally and whether he had any accomplices hiding in the city. The court agreed with the grounds for remand, observing that since the accused appeared to be a Bangladeshi citizen, there could be an international conspiracy in the case, which should be investigated.

Public prosecutor Kishore Patil told the court that Shariful had come to India seven months ago, illegally. He had lived in Mumbai for a few days and then in Thane, where he worked with a housekeeping company.

Police told the court that the crime appeared premeditated as the accused was armed with a knife when he entered the building, where Saif and his family live. After the attack, one piece of the knife was recovered from Saif’s back and the other from the bedroom of the house. The third piece was taken away by Shariful while fleeing. Police said they needed to question Shariful to determine where had he disposed of the third piece.

Shariful lawyer Sandeep Sherkhane claimed that his client was not a Bangladeshi national and that he had relatives in Mumbai. The allegations made by the police were false, he said.