MUMBAI: The Bangladeshi national arrested for breaking into actor Saif Ali Khan’s Bandra home and stabbing him reportedly resorted to crime due to severe poverty.
During questioning, police learned that the accused, Shariful, was a fan of Shah Rukh Khan and had previously attempted to scale the walls of the actor’s Bandra bungalow, Mannat, to catch a glimpse of the “superstar” before targeting Saif.
“He said his friends and family members often told him that he looked like Shah Rukh Khan. That would puff him up,” an officer revealed.
Shariful entered India by crossing the Dawki river on the India-Bangladesh border in Meghalaya, paying ₹10,000 to an agent who facilitated his journey to Assam.
“The agent helped him board a bus to Kolkata, where he stayed for three days before taking a train to Mumbai in May. The agent also helped him get a SIM card. Once in Mumbai, he wandered aimlessly for three days, living on the roadside. He got in touch with Pandey through another person and secured a job at a Worli restaurant in June,” the officer explained. Police are currently tracking the agent’s whereabouts.
Also read: Ailing mom & poverty led Saif Ali Khan’s attacker to India, crime: CopsAfter losing his second job in Mumbai, Shariful decided to commit burglary and scouted locations in the upscale areas of Bandra and Khar on December 31 and January 1. According to police, on the intervening night of January 15-16, Shariful walked for 90 minutes to Bandra. “He carried housebreaking tools like a screwdriver, hammer, and hacksaw blade, which he had bought a few days prior. The knife he later used to attack the actor was stolen from the Thane restaurant where he used to work,” the officer said. “After the crime, he stayed in Bandra-Khar for hours before taking a train to Dadar. He was unaware till then that he had stabbed a famous film actor. He told us during questioning that his attack on Saif was unplanned.”
Also read: Tea for Rs 6, bhurji pav for Rs 60: How Mumbai Police tracked Saif Ali Khan’s Bangladeshi attacker
Police tracked Shariful after Jitendra Pandey provided his Worli location and phone number. “We found that he had used an e-wallet to pay ₹6 for a cup of tea in Worli. His last location was traced to a labour camp in Thane. We found he had also paid ₹60 for a plate of bhurji pav on January 18,” an officer said.
Saif Ali Khan was stabbed multiple times by Shariful on Thursday morning at the actor’s Bandra residence. The actor was admitted to Lilavati Hospital at 3 am on Thursday, where he underwent a five-hour surgery. A piece of the knife was removed from his body during the procedure. Later in the day, he was shifted to the ICU.