Mumbai: In parallel operations, two suspects were arrested in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh on Saturday, January 18, in the case regarding the stabbing of Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan in his Mumbai apartment on Thursday.
According to reports, one suspect was detained in Madhya Pradesh on Saturday morning and is being questioned by the investigating officials.
Meanwhile, another suspect was detained at the Durg railway station in Chattisgarh as he deboarded the Mumbai-Howrah Jnaneswari Express. The suspect, identified as Sandeep alias Akash, is being questioned and is in the custody of the Railway Police Force. An investigation team from Mumbai is heading to Chattisgarh to determine the detained person’s involvement in the stabbing incident.
The Mumbai police have sent the image of the suspect across local police stations as part of the investigation and the arrests were made based on that.
Fifty hours after the high-profile crime, the Mumbai police are intensifying their efforts to apprehend the suspect using CCTV footage.
The police, on Friday, had detained the carpenter identified as Waris Ali Salmani who had worked at Saif Ali Khan’s apartment two days prior the incident. After hours of questioning, he was let go by the police.
The 54-year-old actor suffered multiple stab wounds, including on his neck and near the spine, in a brutal attack at his house in Bandra in the early hours of Thursday.
Auto driver inquired by police
The Mumbai police questioned an auto driver who claimed to have transported wounded actor Saif Ali Khan to Lilavati hospital. He was let go after the police inquiry.
Auto rickshaw driver Bhajan Singh Rana said he was not aware that the passenger with a blood-soaked ‘kurta’ he ferried to the hospital in the wee hours of Thursday was Saif Ali Khan.
“It was only when we reached the hospital gate that he called the guard to fetch a stretcher saying he was Saif Ali Khan,” the auto driver told reporters in Mumbai on Friday.
He said when he was passing by the Satguru Darshan building where the actor stayed, a woman and a few others asked him to stop the rickshaw.
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“Then the person whose white kurta was soaked in blood got in the auto. I noticed he had neck and back injuries, but did not notice the hand injury,” he said.
“He (Saif) walked into the auto. There was a seven-eight-year-old boy who also boarded the rickshaw,” he said when asked if the actor’s son Taimur accompanied him to the hospital.
The earlier plan was to go to the Holy Family Hospital in Bandra but then Saif asked to be taken to Lilavati Hospital, the driver said.
“When we reached the hospital, he called out to the guard at the gate and told him: Please bring a stretcher. I am Saif Ali Khan,” he said, adding the auto reached the hospital around 3 am.
The driver said he did not take a fare amount from the actor after he dropped him at the hospital within seven to eight minutes.
The actor was speaking with the boy in the auto, Rana said, adding there was also another young man, in an apparent reference to Ibrahim Ali Khan, the 23-year-old son of Saif and his first wife, Amrita Singh.
Suspect bought headphones in Dadar: CCTV
Crime Branch officials of Mumbai Police collected CCTV footage from a mobile shop in Dadar visited by the alleged suspect to purchase earphones after stabbing actor Saif Ali Khan at his apartment.
The suspect had visited the shop, “Iqra”.
“He (the suspect) visited my shop and purchased an earphone for Rs 50. He gave me Rs 100, I returned him Rs 50 and he left the shop. Some police officials came to the shop yesterday (Friday) and took away the CCTV footage. They enquired about the person (suspect). I wasn’t aware of what he had done,” Hasan, who works at the shop, told PTI Videos.
“My boy who works here told me that he gave earphones to him (alleged suspect) and later he. Some police officials came and took the CCTV footage yesterday,” said shop owner Shakir.
Stabbed multiple times, Khan recovering
“We are observing his progress and he is doing excellently well according to our expectations. As per his progress, we have advised him to bed rest and if he is comfortable, then in two to three days, we will discharge him,” said Dr Nitin Dange, a neurosurgeon at Lilavati Hospital.
He said a team of doctors checked on him and made him walk.
“Khan had four main wounds which were a little deep, two in the hand, one on the neck and the most deep and dangerous was in the spine,” said the neurosurgeon, who led the team of doctors who operated on the actor.
During surgery, the doctors removed a 2.5-inch knife fragment lodged in his spine. They noted that if the knife had gone just 2 mm deeper, it could have caused a severe injury.
“So, we operated and removed it. But from there, the spinal fluid was leaking. Due to that repair, we are keeping him under observation. Today, he is doing excellent. Wounds are healing, and he has no neurological deficit,” Dr Dange informed.
https://www.siasat.com/saif-ali-khan-stabbing-actor-shifted-to-general-ward-kareena-records-statement-3166750/
His health parameters have improved, and he has been shifted from the ICU to a special room, he said.
“The only thing we have advised is that he has to take rest for some time because of the wounds on the back especially, which can have chances of infection and his movements are restricted for almost a week,” he said.
“Besides visitors, his own movements are being restricted for a faster recovery,” said the surgeon.
The actor is speculated to be discharged on January 21 if the documents are to be believed. Meanwhile, the actor’s wife, Kareena Kapoor Khan, recorded her statement with the Mumbai police on Friday.
(With inputs from PTI)
