Mumbai: Illegal Bangladeshi migrant Shariful Fakir (30), arrested for breaking into actor Saif Ali Khan’s Bandra residence and stabbing him on Jan 16, has requested the police to deport him to his home country. Fakir told Bandra police that his intention was to commit burglary and not harm the actor.
“Shariful claimed that he decided on committing a burglary as he was financially broke due to job loss since Dec 15, 2024. He admitted that had he succeeded in stealing money or valuables from the actor’s flat, he would have fled to Bangladesh the same day. He said he had planned his escape route from Meghalaya and crossing Mulki river to Barisal Sardar in Bangladesh,” a police source told TOI. Last year, Shariful had entered India by crossing Dawki river on the India-Bangladesh border at Meghalaya, paid Rs 10,000 to an agent to have him taken to Assam, and then took a bus to Kolkata, where he stayed for three days before taking a train to Mumbai in May.
On Wednesday, police completed the crime scene reconstruction with the recovery of a white plastic bag near Bandra Talao. “The bag contained various tools including a screwdriver, hammer, hacksaw blade, and a broken knife piece, which the accused had discarded near Bandra Talao, around 1.4km away from Khan’s Satguru Sharan building on St Teresa Road,” said a police officer.
During the re-enactment, Shariful demonstrated to the police team his entry method: scaling a 4-ft wall to enter Satguru Sharan premises, using a ladder to climb 12ft to access the duct, reaching the fourth floor where he cut the rat mesh with a knife. He then used the staircase to reach the 10th floor, from where he climbed through the duct pipe to enter the bathroom in Khan’s 11th floor flat. He used the same route to escape. He showed police that he used the same duct from fourth floor to scale down before he jumped 12ft after noticing that the ladder was missing.
The probe team visited multiple locations with Shariful, including Bandra Talao, his Khar sleeping spot, Bandra station, Dadar and Worli-Koliwada, where they documented statements from the salon worker who cut his hair. “Police analysed footage from over 650 CCTV cameras, both private and govt-owned…,around three dozen recordings distinctly show his presence in the area and his movements, which serve as crucial evidence,” said an officer.
Shariful will be produced before Bandra court on Friday.
To date, police have recorded actress Kareena Kapoor Khan’s statement, who described the intrusion as frightening and confirmed no valuables were stolen from the 11th floor flat. Seven staff members and autorickshaw driver, Bhajan Singh Rana, who ferried Saif to hospital have also provided statements. Authorities have also recorded statements from manpower agent Jitendra Pandey, who had employed Sahriful and alerted police about his Worli presence, providing contact details that aided his capture in Thane after a five-hour operation.
Saif’s statement remains pending.
