Saif Ali Khan attacker wanted Rs 30,000 for his Aadhaar card: Charge sheet

The interrogation of 30-year-old Shariful Islam Shehzad, the burglar arrested for attacking actor Saif Ali Khan in the early hours of January 16, has revealed a desperate attempt by some Bangladeshi nationals to acquire Indian citizenship. During questioning by Investigating Officer Ajay Lingnurkar, Shariful confessed that he needed money to obtain personal documents such as an Aadhaar card, PAN card, and eventually a passport.

Still from CCTV footage of suspect on the day of attack. Pic/PTI

His associate had allegedly asked him for Rs 30,000 to arrange these papers. Shariful told the police that he had entered India with the sole purpose of acquiring an Indian passport, which he claimed was in higher demand than Bangladeshi passports for securing work visas abroad. 

Excerpts from interrogation 

Investigating Officer (IO): 
IO: What is your name? 
Shariful: Mohammad Shariful Islam Shehzad.

Where are you from?
Shariful: I am from Bangladesh — Rajbaria Union, Murla Hatt, Narcity in Jhalokati district. 

When did you come to India? 
Shariful: Around eight months ago. 

When did you come to Mumbai? 
Shariful: I reached Mumbai after staying in Kolkata for 15 days. I took the Geetanjali Express to get here. 

Where were you staying in Mumbai? 
Shariful: In Dadar. I met one Pandey (Amit) sir, who gave me a place to stay. I was working at a hotel in Dadar. 

Officials stationed outside Saif’s house after the attack. File Pic/Anurag Ahire

Do you have any other relatives here? 
Shariful: Not in Mumbai, but I have an uncle in Kolkata. 

What`s his name? 
Shariful: His name was Sajjad Shaikh, but he changed it after coming to India. I don’t know his new name. He came to Kolkata as a child and now has a family. 

What were you doing recently? 
Shariful: I worked in Bandra for two days, then took leave on January 15. 

Why did you take leave? 
Shariful: I wasn’t feeling well 
and wanted to arrange for my Aadhaar and PAN cards. Pandey was demanding R15,000 for each. That’s why I thought of committing a theft. 

What exactly were you planning? 
Shariful: A minor theft, just enough to get money for my documents and passport that’s the reason I went to the area on 15th. 

Which 15th? 
Shariful: On January 15. 

Where did you do the recce? 
Shariful: Around Bandra West, near Bandra railway station. At Saif’s house Before entering Saif Ali Khan’s house, Shariful hid in the lawn of a nearby building as he planned his move into Satguru Sharan, the apartment complex in Bandra West.

On the afternoon of January 15, while doing a recce of the buildings near Saif’s residence, Shariful said, “I was looking for a target but many gates were locked, so I couldn’t sneak in. Then I spotted a building with a shorter compound wall compared to the others. I jumped over it and entered the compound. I tried accessing some of the floors through the staircase, but the doors were locked.”

Where exactly was this door?
Shariful: One of the floors… (unable to explain). Then I climbed a pipe and reached a verandah.

Which floor? Third, fourth, or fifth?
Shariful: It was above the fifth or sixth floor. (unable to recall)
Shariful told the cops he kept climbing stairs until he encountered a safety net. He used a cutter to slice through it and reach an AC box. Climbing onto it, he then removed the glass panes from a bathroom window to gain entry into the flat.

But wasn’t the bathroom locked?
Shariful: Yes, it was. While I was removing the bathroom glass, a toy fell inside the house. After that, I managed to remove the panes. I first stepped into the bathroom. That’s when I saw a woman—one of the caretakers—looking at her phone. Another woman was sleeping beside the bed, and a child (Jeh Baba) was sleeping on the bed.

“As soon as I entered, one of the women asked me, ‘Where have you come from? What do you want?’ I told her, ‘I am not here to harm anyone. I’ve come to commit theft and will leave after that.’ But she started screaming, and the other woman rushed out of the room.”

What else did you say to her?
Shariful: She asked, ‘What have you come for?’ I said I need Rs 1 crore.
Shariful, who did not understand the difference in currency denominations, told the police:

I thought `1 crore in India is equal to one lakh Bangladeshi taka. That’s why I asked for that much. I told her I’d leave after getting the money. As I was talking to the woman, a man in Punjabi attire—referring to Saif—entered and grabbed him. In a bid to escape, I stabbed him.

Where exactly did you stab him? In the stomach?
Shariful: No, sir. I stabbed him two to three times in the back and on the hand. He then loosened his grip on me. He pushed me into the room and locked it from outside. I climbed out through the window using a pipe.

Where did you go after that?
Shariful: I ran downstairs and changed my clothes in the garden. Then I rushed to the bus stop, changed my shirt, and slept there. Later, I went to Bandra station and from there to Dadar.