The illegal Bangladeshi migrant who allegedly broke into actor Saif Ali Khan’s Bandra residence and stabbed him on 16 January has requested deportation, stating that he had no intention of harming the actor but had planned the intrusion as a burglary.
Shariful Fakir, 30, told Bandra police that he had been financially destitute since losing his job on 15 December 2024 and had hoped to steal money or valuables from the actor’s flat, reports Times of India.
He claimed that had he succeeded, he would have fled to Bangladesh the same day, having already charted his escape route via Meghalaya and across the Mulki River to Barisal Sadar in Bangladesh.
Police sources revealed that Fakir had illegally entered India last year by crossing the Dawki River at the Indo-Bangladesh border in Meghalaya.
He allegedly paid an agent Rs10,000 to transport him to Assam before taking a bus to Kolkata, where he stayed for three days before boarding a train to Mumbai in May.
As part of the ongoing investigation, police on Wednesday reconstructed the crime scene and recovered a white plastic bag near Bandra Talao, approximately 1.4 km from Khan’s residence in Satguru Sharan on St Teresa Road.
The bag contained burglary tools, including a screwdriver, hammer, hacksaw blade, and a broken knife piece.
During the re-enactment, Fakir demonstrated how he scaled a 4-ft wall to enter the building’s premises before using a ladder to climb 12ft to the duct.
He then cut through the rat mesh on the fourth floor, used the staircase to reach the tenth floor, and finally climbed through the duct pipe to gain access to the bathroom of Khan’s 11th-floor flat.
He fled using the same route but was forced to jump 12ft to the ground upon realising the ladder was missing.
The investigation team traced Fakir’s movements across multiple locations, including Bandra Talao, his sleeping spot in Khar, Bandra station, Dadar, and Worli-Koliwada.
Police documented statements from a salon worker who had cut his hair and scrutinised footage from over 650 CCTV cameras, both government and privately owned.
Around three dozen recordings distinctly captured his presence in the vicinity, serving as crucial evidence.
Fakir is set to be produced before Bandra Court on Friday (24 January).
Meanwhile, police have recorded the statement of actress Kareena Kapoor Khan, who described the intrusion as terrifying and confirmed that no valuables were stolen from the flat.
Statements have also been taken from seven staff members, autorickshaw driver Bhajan Singh Rana—who transported Saif Ali Khan to the hospital—and manpower agent Jitendra Pandey, who had employed Fakir and later informed police about his whereabouts in Worli, ultimately aiding his capture in Thane after a five-hour operation.
Saif Ali Khan’s statement is yet to be recorded.
