Saif Ali Khan.
Credit: Special Arrangement
Mumbai: In a shocking incident, Bollywood star Saif Ali Khan was stabbed multiple times by an unidentified intruder inside his posh apartment in a building in the Bandra area of Mumbai on Thursday - a development that triggered questions about safety and security of celebrities.
The glaring question emerged as to how the intruder could breach the security of the building which houses the VIP.
Saif Ali Khan underwent an emergency surgery at the Lilavati Hospital & Research Centre and his condition has been described as stable.
The son of the legendary cricketer late Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi, popularly known as Tiger Pataudi and actor Sharmila Tagore, the 54-year-old Saif Ali Khan, the 10th Nawab of Pataudi, stays with wife Kareena Kapoor Khan (44) and sons Taimur Ali Khan (8) and Jehangir Ali Khan (4) at the top floor floors of the 12th storey Satguru Sharan apartments in Khar-Bandra locality of Mumbai.
The Bandra police station and Crime Branch-CID, which is jointly investigating the murderous attack, has established the identity of the accused and efforts are underway to track him down.
The attacker has also been captured in CCTV cameras - where he was seen suspiciously entering through the fire escape stairs.
Dr Niraj Uttamani, COO of Lilavati Hospital, said “Saif Ali Khan was attacked by an unidentified person at his house. He was brought in at 3:00 am by his son Taimur Ali Khan along with their caretaker. He has 6 wounds by sharp objects like knife etc of which 2 wounds are deep and one close to his spine. A small piece of foreign body close to the spine is identified. He is currently undergoing surgery under Dr Nitin Dange, Consultant Neurosurgeon, Dr Leena Jain,Consultant Plastic Surgeon, Dr Nisha Gandhi,Consultant Anaesthesiologist, Dr Kavita Srinivas,Intensivist, Dr Manoj Deshmukh Consultant Radiologist. The extent of the damage will be understood once the surgery is completed.”
The Mumbai Police has started the investigation and an FIR against an intruder has been lodged at the Bandra police station. "We are investigating at this stage. We will not be able to comment on anything," police officials said.
“We have formed 10 teams to investigate,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police Dixit Gedam. “We have found that the accused used the fire escape to enter their house. So far, the investigation suggests that it was an attempted robbery. We are making every effort to arrest the accused as soon as possible. Once he is arrested, we will be able to disclose further details,” said Gedam, adding that the identity of the accused has been established.
The incident took place after 0230 hrs past midnight.
According to reports, Saif Ali Khan’s house help Eliyama Phillipes alias Lima was the first to spot the intruder after which she screamed which alerted the actor.
The intruder was also demanding Rs one crore, reports said, however, there is no independent confirmation.
Thereafter the scuffle followed, during which the attacker stabbed him at least six times including in his hand, neck and spine, where part of the knife broke off and got lodged.
Two staff members Lima and Geeta too sustained minor injuries.
Kareena who has just returned home alerted Saif Ali Khan’s son Ibrahim Ali Khan, who rushed in an auto-rickshaw and with the help of a house staff, rushed the profusely bleeding actor to the hospital.
Brother-in-law Kunal Khemu directly headed to the hospital.
“Right now, he is looking absolutely fine. He is on a recovery path,” said Dr Niraj Uttamani, Chief Operating Officer of Lilavati Hospital.
The surgery was performed by a team comprising Dr Nitin Dange, consultant neurosurgeon, Dr Leena Jain, consultant plastic surgeon, Dr Nisha Gandhi, consultant anaesthesiologist, Dr Kavita Srinivas, intensivist and Dr Manoj Deshmukh, consultant radiologist.
The entire surgery was monitored by Dr Srinivas Kudva, cardiologist, because of his earlier health condition.
After the surgery, the actor has been shifted to the ICU, where doctors would again examine him on Friday and take a call on the future course.
“Saif Ali Khan was admitted to the hospital with an alleged history of assault by some unknown person. He sustained a major injury to the thoracic spinal cord due to a lodged knife in the spine. A surgery was performed to remove the knife and repair leaking spinal fluid,” said Dr Dange.
“There were two other deep wounds on his left hand and one other on his neck were repaired by the plastic surgery team. He is completely stable now. He is recovering well and out of danger now,” he added.
Meanwhile, a statement from Saif Ali Khan’s team said: “Saif Ali Khan has come out of surgery and is out of danger. He is currently in recovery and the doctors are monitoring his progress. All family members are safe and the police are investigating the incident. We would like to thank the team of doctors. We thank all his fans and well-wishers for their prayers and thoughts during this time”.
As part of the investigations, police have recorded the statements of house staff members and security guards of the building.
A few days ago, some renovation work was done in the actor's house and their details are being checked.