Mumbai, January 20
Bangladeshi citizen Mohammad Shariful Islam Shahzad, who allegedly attacked Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan with a knife, has told the police that he was a national level wrestler in Bangladesh before coming to India. Before targeting Saif’s house, Shahzad raided Shah Rukh Khan’s residence ‘Mannat’ and other celebrities’ houses. However, after seeing the high security and high walls outside Shahrukh’s house, he abandoned his intention. Meanwhile, the police have transferred Shahzad from Santacruz police station to Bandra police station for further interrogation and investigation.
Sources claimed that Shahzad told during interrogation that he has been playing in lower weight category in district and national level wrestling championships in Bangladesh. According to sources, Shahzad claimed that due to his wrestling background, he did not get any injury during the attack on Saif Ali Khan. After the attack, Shahzad changed his clothes three to four times to protect himself from the police. From Bandra, he moved to Dadar, Worli, Andheri and finally reached Thane. The day after the incident, he returned to Dadar, moving around constantly, making it difficult for the police to trace him. Shahzad came to Mumbai in September and initially worked in a hotel through a housekeeping company.
Sources said Shahzad laid siege to the houses of several Bollywood celebrities before targeting Saif Ali Khan’s house. Shahzad admitted that he had surveyed the 12-storey building of Satguru Sharan, which houses Saifi Ali Khan, and the residences of other celebrities, including Shah Rukh Khan’s ‘Mannat’. Due to heavy security and high walls outside Shahrukh’s residence, he changed his mind. Shahzad conducted a detailed reconnaissance of Saif Ali Khan’s house on 15 January and identified an easy entry point. He returned later that night and entered the building at 1:37 a.m. on January 16. Despite the opportunity to steal cash and jewelry, Shahzad fled the scene fearing capture after the attack on Saif. Later he closely monitored the investigation through news channels. He also saved the screenshots of the pranks shown by the media in his phone, which were later recovered from his mobile phone. – IANS
