Mumbai: More shocking revelations have come to the fore about Mohammad Shariful Islam Shehzad, the man accused of attacking Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan at his residence. Sources said that Shehzad allegedly planned to kidnap Khan’s son, Jahangir, and extort ₹1 crore as ransom to return him to Bangladesh.
Reports state that Shehzad needed a fake passport to allow him to flee back to Bangladesh and was raising money towards that plan. While attacking his house on January 16, he had demanded ₹1 crore from Saif’s housekeeper, Leema Phillips. She refused, and then a violent altercation occurred, which woke other household members, and Shehzad started a frenzied attack.
First Shehzad assaulted Leema and then turned on Saif Ali Khan, stabbing him in the neck and back numerous times. The attacker is reportedly a Bangladeshi wrestler with a local wrestling competition background who is physically fit.
Shehzad was arrested by the Mumbai Police in Thane, and as part of the probe, the crime scene is being reconstructed. Authorities are also looking at the prospect of an international conspiracy in the incident. Shehzad was remanded into police custody for five days and was presented in court after that.
According to police sources, Shehzad came to India illegally and lived in Mumbai without proper documentation. Currently they are investigating how he managed to infiltrate the country and what kind of connections he might have had there.
But as the investigation continues, it is unclear whether Shehzad planned the attack by himself or whether anyone else was involved in the planning. He also has a criminal history, and the police are also investigating whether he had accomplices in his bid to enter India.
The case has attracted considerable media attention apart from the celebrity nature of the victim for what it says about security and illegal immigration.