Mumbai: The rickshaw driver who rushed Saif Ali Khan to Lilavati Hospital after the attack on the actor at his home on Thursday was oblivious to his passenger’s celebrity status. Bhajan Singh, who lives in a chawl on Pipeline Road in Khar (East), told TOI that upon noticing “a profusely bleeding person”, his only thought was to take a short-cut and reach hospital at the earliest so that his life could be saved.
During the journey, Khan remained conscious and repeatedly asked Singh about their expected arrival time. “I told him it will take only two minutes. The injured actor was accompanied by his domestic help (Hari) and his son Taimur. He was not panicking, though I noticed his white outfit was soaked in blood,” Singh recounted.
“Initially I did not realise that the badly wounded person was a famous Bollywood actor. My only aim was to reach Lilavati Hospital at the earliest. They were in a state of such emergency! That also prevented me from asking for my fare. The fact that such a big actor sat in my vehicle itself was a big source of satisfaction for me, when once I realised who he was.”
On the fateful night, Singh, who works night shifts in the Bandra-Khar area, spotted one of the actor’s domestic help waving at him near Satguru Sharan, Khan’s residential building. “It was a scene of panic. The actor sat inside, his son in the middle and (Hari) on the side before we left for the hospital,” he recalled, describing how a blood-soaked Khan struggled to walk. Upon reaching the hospital, the staff immediately attended to him and took him on a stretcher.
Singh’s chawl-mate Harshitt Rana said, “Singh, I and three others (all auto drivers) are from Uttarakhand and have lived together for 20 years in Mumbai, driving autorickshaws. Our families live in Uttarakhand. Singh drives at night while I do so during the day.”
