How the cops tracked down Saif Ali Khan’s attacker

Mumbai Police on Sunday morning said they have arrested a man from Thane on charges of allegedly assaulting actor Saif Ali Khan at the latter’s residence in Mumbai.

According to Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Dixit Gedam, the assailant has been identified as Mohammad Shariful Islam Shehzad and is believed to be a Bangladeshi national.

However, identifying and apprehending the suspect proved to be a difficult task for the state police. To trace the accused, the police formed 30 police teams and scanned hundreds of CCTV footage to find 30-year-old Shariful Islam.

Police, while reviewing the CCTV footage of the Bandra building where the actor was attacked by an assailant, found that the suspect had left the building after attacking Saif Ali Khan. They later found the CCTV footage at DN Nagar in Andheri, NDTV reported. Officers saw the suspect get off the bike and using the motorcycle’s registration number, identified him using facial recognition technology. During investigation, the police found that the accused was seen three times near Dadar railway station and was traveling to Worli Koliwad.

CCTV footage also revealed that the attacker had visited a contractor in the area. According to details, the contractor provided the police with all the details about the attacker and based on his instructions, the police traced the accused to a labor camp in a forested area in Thane from where he was arrested, as reported by Deccan Herald.

According to NDTV, a police officer said that Shariful claimed that he did not know that he had broken into Saif Ali Khan’s house. The accused, giving the details of how he got to the building, said that he used the basement stairs and air conditioner ducts to get inside.

Saif Ali Khan is currently recovering from an emergency surgery at Lilavati Hospital. Doctors say he can be discharged soon.