‘Bangladeshi’ Man Who Worked As Waiter Arrested For Attack On Saif

Mumbai: A man was arrested from Thane in the wee hours of Sunday for allegedly attacking actor Saif Ali Khan in his house, Mumbai Police said. Cops have claimed that the accused is a Bangladeshi national who goes by multiple aliases—Vijay Das, Bijoy Das and Mohammed IIiyas.

“Prima facie the accused is a Bangladeshi and after entering India illegally he changed his name. He was using Vijay Das as his current name. He came to Mumbai 5-6 months ago. He stayed in Mumbai for a few days and then in the vicinity of Mumbai. The accused used to work in a housekeeping agency,” DCP Zone 9 (Mumbai Police), Dixit Gedam said.

“We have doubts that the accused is of Bangladeshi origin and that is why relevant sections of the Passport Act have been added to the case…,” the officer told ANI.

The arrested accused, a waiter at a restaurant, has confessed to having committed the crime, cops said, according to ANI. The only other details available about the accused come from the official statements of Saif’s wife and actor Kareena Kapoor, and their maid Eliyamma Philips.

The maid, who was the first one to spot the accused in the building, had described him as “skinny”, “dark complexioned”, “in his late 30s,” and “about five feet five inch tall,” reported Hindustan Times. Kareena had referred to the attacker as “very aggressive.”

CCTV footage from the building shows the accused ascending the staircase. His face was covered by a scarf. He was also seen exiting the building via the same route. But this time his face was exposed.

The accused was later captured on CCTV. He was seen boarding a local train at the nearby Bandra station. Later, he was also seen buying earphones near Dadar station. The accused will be produced before court later in the day, cops added.