Saif Ali Khan 'attacker' crossed Meghalaya river to enter India, used Aadhaar in Bengal to get SIM card: Report

The Bangladeshi national arrested for the robbery bid and attack on Saif Ali Khan had illegally entered India around seven months ago.

New developments in actor the Saif Ali Khan attack case have revealed that his attacker Shariful Islam Shehzad Mohammad Rohilla Amin Fakir, a Bangladesh national, crossed the Dawki river in Meghalaya to enter India around seven months ago and used the Aadhaar card of a West Bengal resident to purchase a SIM card, The Indian Express reported, citing the Mumbai Police probe.

Police personnel take the accused, arrested in connection with the alleged attack on Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan, to a hospital for medical examination before producing him at a court, in Mumbai. (PTI)

The 30-year-old accused was arrested from Maharashtra's Thane in the early hours of Sunday. His arrest came three days after he broke into Saif Ali Khan's Bandra residence with an intent of robbery and stabbed the actor six times while engaging in a scuffle with him.

The Mumbai Police had revealed that the accused changed his names to Bijoy Das after illegal entering India. Further investigation into the accused has led the cops to trace the movement of the accused in the lead up to the attack on Saif Ali Khan.

Crossed river Dawki

A preliminary probe has now found that the SIM card Fakir was using was registered under the name Khukumoni Jahangir Sekh from West Bengal. Citing police sources, The Indian Express reported it is suspected that Fakir used Sekh's Aadhaar card to acquire the SIM card.

He reportedly moved around in West Bengal for a few weeks and even tried to make an Aadhaar card for himself, but he failed to do so.

Fakir told the police that he studied till Class 12 in Bangladesh and came to India in search of a job, The Indian Express reported. He claimed to have crossed the Dawki river, located on the India-Bangladesh border in Meghalaya, to enter India. Here, he allegedly went by the fake identity of Bijoy Das.

Chose jobs with no document requirement

After spending a few weeks in Bengal, he came to Mumbai to look for an employment opportunity. Fakir deliberately picked places where he could work without having to submit any documents.

The report said a labour contractor named Amit Pandey helped Fakir with getting housekeeping work in pubs and hotels in the Thane and Worli area.

Initially, Fakir told the police that he was a resident of Kolkata. However, while examining his call records, officials found several outgoing phone calls to Bangladesh-based numbers. Fakir had also used mobile apps to make calls to his family in Bangladesh, they said.

The cops then made the accused call someone from his family. "He called his brother and asked him to send his school living certificate. His brother sent it (the certificate) on Fakir's mobile phone. This document is strong evidence to prove he is a Bangladeshi national," the official added.

Before entering the Satguru Sharan building, which houses Saif Ali Khan's 12th floor apartment, the accused had tried to break into the nearby bungalow of another Bollywood superstar, the report added. However, there he failed as dogs began to bark at him.

A police official on Monday had said that Fakir allegedly hid in the garden of the Satguru Sharan building for two hours after stabbing Saif Ali Khan inside his apartment during the burglary bid.

Following a three-day manhunt, police finally nabbed him in Thane after tracing him down with the help of a labour contractor he had contacted and an UPI transaction that he had made for food.

Notably, Saif Ali Khan suffered six stab injuries in the scuffle with the accused, including two deep wounds his left hand and neck. The actor was rushed to Mumbai's Lilavati Hospital with a knife lodged in his spine.

After undergoing multiple surgeries, doctors at the hospital declared that he was out of danger. The actor is currently under recovery in a special room at the hospital.

Meanwhile, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Priyanka Chaturvedi pressed on the attacker entering the nation via Meghalaya and asked questions on the "failure" of the Centre for not having adequate security measures at the borders.

"The illegal Bangladeshi immigrant who attacked actor Saif Ali Khan entered India via Meghalaya. Yet again raises questions on the failure of Home Minister of India for not having adequate measures in place to safeguard our borders. Shame," she said in a post on X.

(with PTI inputs)