Saif Ali Khan attack accused crossed river to enter India, used Bengal resident’s Aadhaar to get SIM: Mumbai Police probe
Based on his questioning, the Mumbai Police have traced the movement of Mohammed Shariful Islam alias Vijay Das (30), the Bangladeshi national arrested for the attack on actor Saif Ali Khan.
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According to sources, Mohammed Shariful Islam told the police that he had studied till Class 12 in Bangladesh, has two brothers, and came to India in search of employment. From crossing the Dawki river to enter India about seven months ago, to travelling to West Bengal where he stayed for a few weeks and used an Aadhaar card of a resident there to get a SIM card, and finally moving to Mumbai in search of a job. Based on his questioning, the Mumbai Police have traced the movement of Mohammed Shariful Islam alias Vijay Das (30), the Bangladeshi national arrested for the attack on actor Saif Ali Khan.
A preliminary probe has found that the SIM card being used by the accused was registered in the name of ‘Khukumoni Jahangir Sekh’ from West Bengal, whose Aadhaar card he is suspected to have used to procure it, police sources said. Shariful Islam is suspected to have travelled across a few districts in West Bengal for a few weeks. He tried to make an Aadhaar card but failed to do so, said sources.
According to sources, Shariful Islam told the police that he had studied till Class 12 in Bangladesh, has two brothers, and came to India in search of employment. He claimed that he crossed the Dawki river, on the India-Bangladesh border in Meghalaya, to enter India. In India, he allegedly used a fake identity as Vijay Das.
After a few weeks in West Bengal, he came to Mumbai, where he chose to work at places where documents were not required. A labour contractor, Amit Pandey, helped him get housekeeping work in pubs and hotels in Worli and Thane, said sources.
During questioning, Shariful Islam first claimed that he was a resident of Kolkata, police said. On going through his cellphone, police found several calls made on Bangladesh numbers. He had also used mobile apps to make calls to his family members in Bangladesh, police sources said.
Mohammad Shariful Islam Shahzad, the prime accused in the Saif Ali Khan attack case being taken to Bandra court from Khar Police station on Sunday. (Express Photo: Ganesh Shirshekar)
Police then made him call his family, and he spoke to one of his brothers in Bangladesh, from whom they got his identity documents, said sources. The documents confirmed his Bangladeshi nationality.
Police sources said that before entering Khan’s building, Shariful Islam made a failed attempt to enter a nearby bungalow of another Bollywood superstar. He fled after the dogs there barked at him. The trespassing attempt was captured on some CCTV cameras, but the visuals are not very clear, said sources. A senior police officer said they have not received any complaint in this regard.
Police sources said the accused was armed with a knife and some tools when he went to Khan’s house. After fleeing from Khan’s house, the accused slept in a garden near a college in Bandra and also changed his clothes, said sources.
He was eventually caught hiding in the mangroves in Thane at around 2 am on Sunday — after a manhunt that involved tracking CCTV footage and an online payment he made at a food stall.
Meanwhile, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Zone 9, Dixit Gedam said the accused would be taken to the actor’s residence as part of their investigation procedure.
Khan was seriously injured in the break-in at his duplex residence on January 16, between 2 am and 2.30 am, after he was stabbed multiple times during an alleged failed robbery attempt. He was taken to the Lilavati Hospital, where he underwent surgery. Doctors have said he is stable and out of danger.
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