Saif Ali Khan attack case: Things are finally unravelling in the mysterious stabbing and burglary attempt at Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor’s residence. Now, as the prime accused in the crime has been arrested by the Mumbai police, more details on where the accused was hiding all this while has been revealed. 

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The 30-year-old man identified as Mohammed Shariful Islam has reportedly accepted his crime and pleaded guilty, according to police. The man was nabbed by the police after nearly 70 hours of the attack, which led to Saif’s hospitalisation and emergency surgery as he had suffered not one, but six stab wounds. The actor was attacked with a knife as he tried to protect his family. 

Where was the attacker hiding in Mumbai?

The attacker, who police suspect is a Bangladeshi national, was not far away from where the incident took place. He made a UPI transaction through Google Pay for food and a bottle of water at a stall near Century Mill in Worli which ultimately led to his arrest, according to a report in The Indian Express newspaper. 

Saif Ali Khan attack case: Attacker is Bangladeshi, doesn't have valid Indian documents, say police

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The phone payment led police to the accused’s mobile number which was then traced to Thane. It was found out that the man was hiding near a dense mangrove cluster near a labour camp. Once the police were able to zero down the location, the police launched a 100-person search.

The report quoted a source as saying, “After searching there, the police team had almost left the spot when they decided to check once more. As they looked again, the light from one of the torches indicated someone sleeping on the ground. As an officer moved closer, the person got up and started running. He was soon caught and overpowered.”

“During initial questioning, the accused told us that after he saw his images being flashed on TV and YouTube, he got scared and fled to Thane as he had worked in a bar there and knew the area,” they said.

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The police first tracked CCTV footage at the Bandra railway station and traced him to a shop outside the Dadar station from where he bought a mobile cover. “But he made a cash payment here. After that, he moved to Kabutarkhana and then to Worli,” sources said.

The police then started scanning footage in the Worli area, where they found the suspect lingering for a while at a stall near Century Mill. He was spotted talking with the person running the stall. The police then found the man named Naveen Ekka who ran the stall. “On the suspicion that the accused was a friend of Ekka, seven police teams searched the Worli-Koliwada area on Saturday, showing pictures of the accused to vendors,” sources said.

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The police then tracked Ekka who lives in a house at Jaihind Mitra Mandal in Janata Colony where he was staying along with four or five other workers. But when they reached the spot, the house was locked. The police then contacted the landlord Rajnarajayan Prajapati. “The police got Ekka’s mobile number through Prajapati’s son Vinod. They also showed Vinod a photo of the suspect. He confirmed that Ekka was a tenant but he could not identify the accused,” sources said.

Attacker made UPI payment for paratha and water bottle

Once police traced Ekka, he told them that the accused had made a UPI payment for paratha and the water bottle. This phone number helped the police track the man. It led them to a contractor named Amit Pandey who had hired the accused a few months earlier. 

“Nearly 20 teams arrived at the location and began searching for the suspect. But he had fled the spot and turned off his mobile phone around 10 pm Saturday,” sources said.

The police then expanded their search and included the mangroves near the camp. A police personnel led by DCP Navnath Dhawale caught the man who was hiding in the mangroves. 

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