Was Saif attacked or just acting, asks Maha minister

Maharashtra cabinet minister Nitesh Rane on Thursday said the way Saif Ali Khan came out of hospital following a knife attack made him wonder if the Bollywood star was 'really attacked or he was acting'.

Earlier, Bangladeshis entering the country illegally were found on roadsides, now they enter homes, the Bharatiya Janata Party leader said, referring to a man hailing from the neighbouring country being arrested for entering the actor's residence in Mumbai and stabbing him.

The stabbing incident occurred on January 16, when Khan, 54, was attacked in his 12th-floor apartment in the upscale Bandra area during an attempted robbery.

He sustained multiple stab wounds and underwent two surgeries at the Lilavati Hospital in Mumbai.

The actor was discharged from the hospital on Tuesday.

Police have arrested the intruder, identified as Shareeful Islam Shehzad Mohammad Rohilla Amin Fakir, a 30-year-old Bangladeshi national who illegally entered India last year and assumed the alias Vijay Das.

He is currently in police custody, and initial investigations indicate he intended to commit theft during the attack.

Speaking at a BJP event here on Thursday, Rane said, "The way Saif came out of the hospital, I am wondering if he was really attacked or is he acting."

He said while Bangladeshis coming to India illegally were earlier found on roadside, now they enter homes.

"May be the Bangladeshi intruder wanted to take him away," the ports and fisheries minister said.

Everyone speaks up when a 'Khan' is attacked, but not when a Hindu actor is attacked, he claimed.

"Opposition leaders Jitendra Awhad, Supriya Sule did not speak about (late actor) Sushant Singh Rajput. She is concerned only about Saif Ali Khan," Rane alleged.

Rajput died by suicide at his home in Mumbai in June 2020.

Rane said people should be aware of what's happening around them.

Meanwhile, Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole slammed the government for indulging in 'religious divide' instead of maintaining law and order.

'Mixing religion and politics is BJP's agenda' to divert the attention from issues being faced by people, he said.

"Instead of raising Hindu-Muslim angle in law and order situations, police must catch the real culprit. There are reports about the person caught on CCTV and the one arrested (in Saif attack case) not being the same person. Earlier police had detained some lookalikes and released them. It is sad that cine artists, sarpanch, common citizens are not safe," Patole said.

The Congress leader also said the case of Sushant Singh Rajput's death is with the Central Burau of Investigation (CBI).

"There is BJP government in the state and at the Centre...why is it that the case hasn't been resolved. We had spoken about it that time," he said.

On Wednesday, Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Nirupam also commented on the 'quick' recovery of Saif Ali Khan.

"Doctors at the Lilavati hospital said the knife had penetrated 2.5 inches inside the actor's back and the surgery went on for six hours. They should tell us if a person who underwent a six-hour-long operation can recover so quickly," Nirupam said.

Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray MP Sanjay Raut on Wednesday said the knife was wedged deep, but Saif Ali Khan walked out alive from the hospital.

"This is nothing short of a miracle by the doctors," he said.