Over 30 hours gone, 20 teams at work, but no trace of Saif Ali Khan’s attacker

MUMBAI: More than 30 hours have passed but the Mumbai police have yet to arrest the man who repeatedly stabbed actor Saif Ali Khan in his plush apartment in the city’s Bandra area, an official said on Friday.

The city police have formed 20 teams to track down and nab the intruder and are tapping their network of informers to locate him, officials have said.

The crime branch and the local police have gathered technical data, including how many mobile phones were active in the area when the actor was attacked during a “burglary attempt” in his apartment housed in ‘Satguru Sharan’ building, the police official said.

Evidence has been collected from Khan’s home and the building with the help of forensic teams and the dog squad and searches were conducted at many places in Mumbai to track down the attacker, he said.

The 54-year-old actor received six stab injuries, including in his neck, in the attack around 2.30 am on Thursday. He was out of danger following an emergency surgery at the Lilavati Hospital where he was rushed, according to doctors treating him. He continues to be in the hospital.

Police are examining the CCTV footage of the building showing the intruder, who was armed with a wooden stick and a long Hexa blade, fleeing after the attack.

The footage, captured at 2.33 am, clearly showed the young suspect’s face. He is seen wearing a brown T-shirt with a collar and a red scarf while scurrying down the stairs on the sixth floor of the building. The actor lives on the 12th floor.

Besides Khan, a 56-year-old staff nurse at the house, Eliyama Philip, who is the complainant, and a domestic help suffered blade injuries in the incident, said an official on Thursday.

The entire family - Khan, his wife and fellow star Kareena Kapoor, and their two sons, four-year-old Jeh and eight-year-old Taimur - were home in the 12th-floor apartment along with their five house helps. In a statement to the police, Jeh's nanny Philip, who first encountered the armed attacker, said he asked for Rs 1 crore.

The intruder did not force his entry or break into the actor's flat but possibly sneaked in at some point during the night with the intention of robbery, police officials said.

The man, she said, pointed a finger at her and warned her, "Koi awaaz nahin (don't make any noise).

Hearing her scream, Khan and Kareena rushed out of their room. The intruder, who Philip said was between 35-40 years old, then attacked Khan with a knife.