Saif Ali Khan attack case: Court grants police five-day custody of accused Mohammad Shariful Islam Shehzad

Mumbai: In a dramatic turn of events, a Bangladeshi intruder was arrested for attacking Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan after a hot chase of three days in the wee hours of Sunday from Thane city.

The Mumbai police is also investigating a possible “international conspiracy” besides multiple other angles into Saturday’s burglary attempt, Rs 1 crore demand and the knife attack on 54-year-old Saif Ali Khan, the 10th Nawab of the Pataudis.

The accused was identified as Shariful Islam Shehzad Mohammed Rohilla Amin Fakir, a 30-year-old man, who allegedly hails from Rajbari district of Bangladesh.

He illegally entered India four to five months ago, assumed the identity as Vijay Das and worked in an agency involved in housekeeping services.

The Bandra police station with the help of Crime Branch-CID is investigating the case.

The accused has reportedly confessed to the crime.

The accused has been booked under Sections 311, 312, 331 (4), 331 (6), 331 (7) of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita along Section 14 of the Foreigners Act, 1946 and along with Section 3 (1) of the Foreigners Order, 1948.

He was produced before a holiday Magistrate court, which remanded him to police custody for five days, that is till 24 January.

The Police also told the court they needed to find out if there was an international conspiracy linked to the case, which the court accepted and observed that it "cannot be said to be impossible".

"So, sufficient time has to be given to the investigating officer. Therefore, granting police custody of 5 days,” the court said.

The accused was hiding off the mangrove area adjoining a labour camp near Hiranandani Estate in Kasarvadavali off the Ghodbunder Road in Thane city.

“The motive behind the crime, based on primary investigations, is robbery,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police Dixit Gedam. “He does not have valid Indian documents.

“There are some seizures which indicate that he is a Bangladeshi national,” he said, adding that he has illegally entered India and assumed a false identity of Vijay Das.

“He has entered four to five months ago. He stayed in the vicinity of Mumbai. He was working in a housekeeping agency,” the police officer said, adding that it was only 15 days ago that he came to Mumbai city.

On the other hand, doctors have expressed satisfaction over the recovery of Saif Ali Khan, who is recuperating in the Lilavati Hospital & Research Centre at Bandra area of Mumbai.

Past midnight, on Thursday, Khan was attacked inside his flat in the Satguru Sharan apartments, the 12-storey building in the posh Bandra locality that houses the actor's four-floor residence.

Over the past two days, two suspects were questioned - one in Mumbai and another in Durg in Chhattisgarh, however, their role could not be established and they were subsequently allowed to go.

Tracking the accused down was not an easy task as police relied heavily on human and technical intelligence.

Following the crime, he travelled by train from Bandra to Dadar and then walked to his residence in Worli Koliwada, where he stayed with other persons. Upon seeing his image on television, he panicked and fled to Thane, from where he was eventually apprehended. Police also spoke to the contractor, who employed him and gathered details.

The accused’s lawyer Sandeep Shekhane, however, has denied that he is a Bangladeshi national. “The court has asked the police to submit a report within 5 days. The police have no proof that he is a Bangladeshi. They said that he came here 6 months ago, which is a wrong statement. He has been living here for more than 7 years. His family is in Mumbai. There has not been a proper investigation,” he said.