Saif Ali Khan Attack: Was it an International Conspiracy? Mumbai Police to Interrogate Accused

He is a Bangladeshi national who, after illegally entering India, changed his name to Vijay Das. He was attempting to flee to Bangladesh after the incident.

Saif Ali Khan Attack: Mohammad Shariful Islam Shahzad (30), the accused in the attack on actor Saif Ali Khan, was arrested from Thane in the early hours of Sunday. He is a Bangladeshi national who, after illegally entering India, changed his name to Vijay Das. He was attempting to flee to Bangladesh after the incident. According to the police, Shariful entered Saif Ali Khan’s house with the intention of theft, but he did not know who owned the house. The court has remanded him to five days of police custody.

Police Listed These 15 Points in the Remand Application

The police included 15 points in the remand application for the accused. The police want to know who instigated the accused to commit this serious crime, where he obtained the weapon, whether the attack on the actor was an international conspiracy, who else was involved in the incident, and the accused’s intention for entering the actor’s house, etc.

1. Custodial interrogation is necessary to ascertain if anyone instigated the accused to commit the crime.
2. It is necessary to obtain information from the accused about who gave him the address of the actor’s house and to arrest those involved.
3. The clothes worn by the accused, which the police say he later hid, need to be recovered.
4. The accused was living under the alias “Vijay Das”; an investigation is needed to understand why he chose this name.
5. Investigators will have to recover any remaining parts or pieces of the weapon used in the crime, which the accused may have hidden.
6. Investigators need to locate and recover the weapon used in the crime from the place where the accused obtained it.
7. The accused illegally entered India from Bangladesh without a passport or visa and has been residing illegally in India. Custodial interrogation is required to ascertain his route from Bangladesh to India and how he entered the country.
8. Investigators want to find out if anyone assisted the accused in illegally entering India from Bangladesh and in his illegal stay.
9. Investigators also need to ascertain if anyone provided shelter to the accused during his illegal stay in India.
10. On what date did the accused enter India, and what is the duration of his illegal stay?
11. Did the accused have any accomplices in committing the crime?
12. What was the accused’s “real motive” behind committing the crime; was it theft as the preliminary investigation suggests?
13. Did the accused have any prior criminal record in India, Bangladesh, or any other country?
14. Why did the accused flee from Bangladesh and change his identity to hide from the authorities in India?
15. Was the accused in contact with people who had illegally entered India from Bangladesh, Pakistan, or other countries?

Accused Arrived in Mumbai 5-6 Months Ago

A birth certificate obtained by the Mumbai Police confirmed Shariful’s Bangladeshi nationality. DCP Dikshit Gedam stated in a press conference that the accused arrived in Mumbai 5-6 months ago. He worked for a housekeeping agency. He confessed to entering the actor’s house and committing the crime. The police have also invoked sections of the Passport Act against him as he could not provide any proof of being an Indian citizen. The accused has no prior criminal record. During interrogation, he repeatedly changed his name. Sometimes he gave his name as Bijoy Das, sometimes Vijay Das, and sometimes Mohammad Elias, Mohammad Sajjad, and Mohammad Alian. The accused previously worked at a hotel in Hiranandani Estate, Thane, where he received a Best Employee award. He later quit his job.

CCTV Footage and Bike Led to His Location

The Mumbai Police deployed 35 teams to apprehend the accused. The police also examined CCTV footage from 10-15 days before the incident. During scanning, footage from the DN Nagar area of Andheri showed someone being dropped off by a biker. Close examination revealed that the person who got off the bike was the attacker. Details of the bike number were obtained, leading the police to a series of clues. Footage from a mobile shop showed the accused buying a mobile cover. Through CCTV, his residence in the Worli Koliwada area was traced. He was living in a room with five other people. A labour contractor also provided information about the attacker to the police. The police found him in a labour camp in Thane.

He Fled the Room and Hid in the Bushes

Based on interrogation and the accused’s mobile records, the police learned that he had gone to a construction site labour camp in Thane. When the police surrounded the camp in the early hours of Sunday, he was alerted. He escaped from the room and hid in dense thorny bushes. The police apprehended him after retrieving him from the bushes.

Recovery of the Third Piece of the Knife Remains

During the accused’s appearance in Bandra court, the police stated that the third piece of the knife used to attack Saif Ali Khan had not yet been found. One piece was found at the scene, while another was removed from Saif’s spine during surgery. The location where the accused discarded the third piece is yet to be ascertained. According to the police, the accused used the building’s fire escape stairs to enter Saif Ali Khan’s residence.