Hyderabad: During the early hours of 16 January Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan and his family endured a harrowing home invasion. The break-in occurred around 2 am at his Bandra residence in Mumbai. The intruder was first spotted by the family’s nanny, Eliyamma Philip, in the room of Saif’s four-year-old son, Jehangir. Reports indicate that the attacker assaulted the nanny before attacking Saif Ali Khan and another staff member.
In this context, several claims have been circulating on social media. Some users have alleged that the assailant was affiliated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
A Facebook user wrote, “Muslim Bollywood actor, Saif Ali Khan, got stabbed by an RSS member 6 times. He’s been admitted to the hospital. Situation of Muslims in India! #SaifAliKhan.” The post was shared alongside a photo of Saif Ali Khan and an image of some people wearing saffron shawls and holding swords.
An X user shared a video of a woman introducing herself as the wife of carpenter Waris Ali and wrote, “Waris Ali arrested in connection with the Saif Ali Khan case.” (Archive)
Similar posts can be seen here and here. (Archive)
Fact check
NewsMeter has found the claims to be misleading. There is no evidence to suggest that the attacker had any political affiliation, including ties to the RSS.
A keyword search led to a BBC report titled “Bollywood Star Saif Ali Khan Out of Danger After Being Stabbed,” dated 17 January. According to the report, Saif Ali Khan underwent surgery and is now out of danger after being attacked by an unknown intruder at his home. The report quoted Mumbai’s Deputy Commissioner of Police, Dixit Gedam, stating that “an unknown person” had entered the actor’s residence, and the exact details of the assault remain unclear.
Furthermore, we found a report from the Hindustan Times titled “Saif Ali Khan Stabbed: 48 Hours Gone, 30 Mumbai Police Teams Formed. Where Is the Attacker?” dated 18 January.
According to the report, Khan was brutally stabbed multiple times by an unknown assailant who broke into his home during the early hours of 16 January. Despite the deployment of over 30 police teams, more than 48 hours have passed since the incident, and the attacker is yet to be arrested.
An Indian Express report dated 18 January stated that the suspect is still on the run. Authorities suspect he may be a “hardened criminal,” as he reportedly changed his clothes to mislead investigators after fleeing the crime scene. On 17 January, the Bandra police detained a “suspect” for questioning. However, after five hours of interrogation, he was released when no connection to the case could be established. Investigators also questioned a carpenter who had recently worked at Saif’s building, along with other workers in the area.
The report noted that with the investigation yielding no results so far, the police appeared to be back to square one. It did not mention the arrest of any individual.
At the time of writing this article, no arrests have been made, and there have been no reports linking the attacker to any organisation or religion.
Therefore, the claim that an RSS member attacked Saif Ali Khan is misleading.
This story was originally published by NewsMeter as part of the Shakti Collective. Apart from the headline, excerpt and introduction, this story has not been edited by ThePrint staff.
It was a Muslim, you dumb idiots.
What kind of fact checkers you are? Seems like we need a fact checker for the fact checker.
The accused is an illegal immigrant from Bangladesh staying in Mumbai with a fake Hindu name. The name of the accused is Mohd. Shariful Islam Shehzad. The fake name he used to signup with the housekeeping agency is Vijay Das.
All of this is in the public domain. Despite this The Print claims this is misinformation? The accused in indeed a Muslim – an illegal immigrant from Bangladesh nonetheless.
Mr. Shekhar Gupta, please rein in your editorial colleagues. They seem more interested in spreading misinformation.
The Print’s Fact-Check team is willfully indulging in spreading misinformation
Thus seems to be a rather ingenuous attempt at disinformation.
The Reuters has reported that the accused is a Bangladeshi illegal immigrant – a Muslim who changed his name to a Hindu one and was working with a housekeeping agency in Mumbai. The following paragraphs are from the Reuters report-
“Primary evidence suggests that the accused is a Bangladeshi citizen and after entering India illegally he changed his name,” Dixit Gedam, a deputy commissioner of police, told a press conference.
The suspect, arrested on the outskirts of Mumbai, was using the name Vijay Das but is believed to be Mohammad Shariful Islam Shehzad and was working with a housekeeping agency after having come to the city five or six months ago, Gedam said.
Is this what “un-hyphenated journalism” implies? Seems like old wine in new bottle.