Attack on Saif Ali Khan: The 5 key questions – and potential answers

Based on the preliminary investigation of the crime scene and review of the Satguru Sharan building where Khan stays with his family in a duplex (11th and 12th floor), the police suspect that the intruder first jumped through the back gate of the building to enter the premises. Once he entered the building, he avoided CCTV cameras and took the fire exit stairs till some point. He has been captured on CCTV climbing up the floors barefoot at 1.38 am with his face covered.

He is then suspected to have used a two-foot-wide shaft to enter the bathroom of Khan’s younger child from where he gained entry into the house on the 11th floor. This is the initial theory shared by the officials involved in the investigation.

2. How did the intruder escape when he was overpowered by Saif Ali Khan and the caretakers and was locked inside the room?

After the intruder was caught, Khan and the others managed to overpower him in the child’s room, following which they all escaped from the room and closed it from the outside. Police officials said that as the family rushed to the 12th floor of the house for safety, the accused most likely used the toilet window and exited through the same narrow shaft that he used to enter the house. He then reached the fire exit stairs and was captured on a CCTV camera on the sixth floor of the building.

3.What kind of security cover does Saif’s building have?

The police said the security arrangements at the building are not strict. There were two guards at the main gate and one at the back gate. Officers said that for such a high-profile building in Bandra, the society has inadequate CCTV coverage. Local vendors outside the building also told The Indian Express that the security guards stationed at the gate would often allow them to enter the building and visit apartments without verifying whether an order was placed.

A vegetable vendor who runs a shop adjacent to the building said, “If we receive an order to deliver vegetables or fruits, we would go and stand at the gate and inform the watchman. He would then open the automatic gate using a card and we would take the lift and deliver the goods to the respective floor.”

He added, “There have also been times when the watchman has on random occasions called and verified, though it is not a usual practice. I believe that as he became familiar with us, he allowed us to enter without any restriction.” The vendor also said that there is only one flat on each floor of the 12-storey building.

4. Why was Saif Ali Khan taken to the hospital by his son Ibrahim in an autorickshaw?

The police suspect that since two children – Taimur and Jehangir – were at home and someone needed to take care of them at such a sensitive time, the family called Khan’s elder son Ibrahim immediately after the attack and he took Khan to the hospital with one of the caretakers. It is not clear why Ibrahim chose to take him to the hospital in an autorickshaw and not in one of the family cars.

5. Why is the Bandra police taking time to trace the accused though the high-profile area is covered with CCTV cameras?

Police officers say that while they have an image of the accused, they have not been able to identify his name or other details. They have circulated his images among domestic workers in and around the building and among history-sheeters. However, no one has identified him yet. As a result, the police do not have a mobile phone number or other details that they can use to track him or his family members.

The man was last seen on a CCTV camera some 200 metres from the crime scene. In the absence of technical intelligence, the police are struggling to track him down. While the police have detained a person in the case, they are yet to confirm if he is the accused.