'He asked if I was Hindu, then plunged a knife into my back': Survivor in Mumbai 'lone wolf' attack recounts horror

'I got frightened and ran away, hiding behind the building. After about five to seven minutes, when there was no movement, I called Mishra(his supervisor and other survivor). He was crying and saying, ‘I will die'.

Mumbai: The security guard-cum-dance teacher, Subroto Ramesh Sen, who survived the knife attack in Mumbai’s Mira Road suburbs, told police investigators that the accused, Jaib Zubair Ansari, first asked if there was a mosque nearby, then inquired about his religion, and later asked his colleague and superior to recite the 'kalma'.

When Sen (31) and his colleague and supervisor, Rajkumar Mishra, refused, the accused allegedly launched a brutal knife attack.

The Mira-Bhayander Vasai-Virar police commissionerate and the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), which are probing the suspected ‘lone wolf’ attack, recorded Sen’s statement.

He had been deployed as a security guard through Aman Security India Pvt. Ltd. since March 28, 2026, at an under-construction building—Asmita Grand Mansion—located behind Wockhardt Hospital in Nayanagar, Mira Road, in Thane district.

A total of four guards were deployed at the site, with Sen on gate duty. Besides Sen and Mishra, the others on duty were Hari Singh, Ajay Shukla, and Manoj Kumar.

“At around 3 am on April 27, an unknown person approached me and asked if there was a mosque ahead. I told him there was one on the right side. He then asked its name, to which I replied that I did not know. He then asked if I was Hindu, and I confirmed. After that, he left but continued to linger nearby,” Sen told police.

“At about 4 am, I went to have tea at an Iranian stall near Rasaz Cinema. The same person was present there. After finishing tea, I returned to my duty post around 4:30 am. He approached me again and said, "You are Hindu, right?’ He then grabbed my right hand and attacked me with a knife. I tried to evade the blow, but the knife pierced my back," Sen said in his statement.

“Somehow, I managed to escape and ran towards the supervisor’s cabin near the main gate. While I was narrating the incident to him, the attacker reached the cabin and addressed Mishra, saying, "You are Hindu too, right? If not, recite the kalma".

"When Mishra did not comply, he too was attacked with the knife,” he added.

“I got frightened and ran away, hiding behind the building. After about five to seven minutes, when there was no movement, I called Mishra. He was crying and saying, ‘I will die, I will die.’ I then returned to the cabin and saw two men along with Hari Singh present there. Hari Singh told me that the same attacker had also stabbed Mishra,” Sen said.