2 staffers of Saif's house identify arrested Bangladeshi man as attacker

The police said they have strong evidence linking him to the crime, including CCTV footage and a positive facial recognition test

Two staffers at Saif Ali Khan's residence have identified Bangladeshi man Shariful Fakir as the one who attacked the actor after entering his house here last month, a police official said on Thursday.

Shariful Islam Shehzad Mohammad Rohilla Amin Fakir (30) alias Vijay Das was arrested last month for allegedly stabbing the actor, and is currently in judicial custody.

The Mumbai police on Wednesday conducted an Identification Parade (IP) at the Arthur Road jail here in connection with the case of the attack on Khan, he said.

Eliyamma Phillip (56), a staffer at Khan's residence, and househelp Junu identified Shariful as the person who attacked the actor, the official said.

The identification parade was held in the presence of a tehsildar and five panchas, he said.

Phillip is the primary witness in the case as she too was allegedly attacked by the accused, as per the police.

The city police last month said a facial recognition test confirmed that the face of the Bangladeshi man arrested for allegedly stabbing Khan matched with the person seen in the CCTV footage from the Satguru Sharan building in Bandra area where the actor lives.

Shariful allegedly broke into the Bollywood star's 12th-floor apartment in the early hours of January 16 and stabbed him six times before fleeing the scene, they said.

He was arrested from neighbouring Thane city three days later.

Following the knife attack, Khan, 54, was admitted to the nearby Lilavati Hospital, where he underwent two surgeries. He was discharged from the private hospital on January 21.