Mumbai: Less than 72 hours after actor Saif Ali Khan was attacked at his residence in Bandra (West) here, a Railway Protection Force (RPF) official said Saturday that they had detained a ‘suspect’ in the case from the Durg Junction railway station in Chhattisgarh.
However, the detention turned out to be a case of mistaken identity Sunday when Mumbai police officials upon reaching Durg, said the ‘suspect’ detained by RPF the previous day is “not the accused”. “From yesterday, we have been saying that he is just a suspect, let us investigate before coming to any conclusion. We are releasing him. We will drop him at the railway station. He is not the accused, we are not taking him to Mumbai,” Mumbai Police sub-inspector Pradeep Funde was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
The ‘suspect’ too reiterated before the media that he was “not the accused”.
“I did not do anything wrong. I was brought here for questioning and now I have been released,” he said.
Sanjeev Sinha, RPF Durg in-charge had told the media Saturday that the force was alerted by Mumbai police about a ‘suspect’ onboard the Jnaneswari Express which operates on the Kolkata-Mumbai route. “They shared his photo and tower location. On that basis, we checked the general coach and found him.”
Mumbai police officials, he said, confirmed the identity of the ‘suspect’ through video call.
In the wee hours of Thursday morning, between 2 am and 2:30 am, a man gained entry into actor Saif Ali Khan’s penthouse duplex in Satguru Sharan, in Mumbai’s Bandra (West). This was followed by an altercation between him and the actor during which he stabbed Saif at least six times and injured a nanny who had alerted the others to his presence.
Bandra police registered a case of attempted robbery, causing grievous hurt with an intention of robbery, trespassing, and under other relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita(BNS) against the attacker. The police have already recorded the statement of the nanny as well as Saif’s wife, actor Kareena Kapoor Khan.
Saif, meanwhile, is recovering at Mumbai’s Lilavati Hospital and is said to be out of danger. He was shifted to a private room from the ICU Friday.
This is an updated version of the report
Also Read: Inside the hour: What happened between 2 am & 3 am on the night Saif Ali Khan was stabbed
If only the Mumbai cops were as diligent in nabbing the suspects in other such burglary cases.
The Mumbai police works only when celebrities are involved.