Police say attacker stabbed Saif Ali Khan in the back to escape actor's firm grip

The Bangladeshi national arrested for the knife attack on Saif Ali Khan has told the police that he stabbed the actor in his back multiple times to free himself from his tight grip, an official said on Jan 21.

After the attack, the intruder escaped from Khan's flat, located in upscale Bandra here, and hid in the garden of the building for around two hours, he said.

Police on Jan 19 arrested the accused, Shariful Islam Shehzad Mohammad Rohilla Amin Fakir (30) alias Vijay Das, from neighboring Thane city for stabbing the 54-year-old Bollywood star in the early hours of Jan 16.

Khan suffered multiple stab injuries in the attack and underwent an emergency surgery at the Lilavati Hospital. Doctors also removed a sharp object that was lodged in the actor's spine.

"The accused entered the actor's flat in the Satguru Sharan building from the bathroom window with the intention of theft. After he entered the house, the actor's staff spotted him and started arguing with him. Soon, Saif Ali Khan came there and sensing a threat, he held the accused tightly from the front," the police official said.

"As the accused did not get time to move, he started stabbing the actor in his back to free himself from the latter's grip. As Khan was injured in the attack, the accused managed to break free from his grip," he said.

Later, Khan locked the main door of his flat assuming that the attacker was still inside. However, the accused managed to flee using the same route through which he had entered, the official said.

The accused then came down and hid himself in the garden of the building for around two hours, he added.

The police have earlier said that the fingerprints of the accused have been found at the crime scene, including the bathroom window from where he entered and exited, the duct shaft and the ladder he used to enter from the duct.

Fakir, a native of Jhalokathi district in Bangladesh, had been residing in Mumbai for over five months, working odd jobs and associated with a housekeeping agency, they said.

A court in Mumbai on Jan 19 remanded the accused in five-day police custody.

Khan was discharged from the hospital on Jan 21, five days after the attack.

(PTI)