Saif Ali Khan attack case: Police detains second suspect from Chhattisgarh

Saif Ali Khan

Two suspects have been arrested in connection with the attack on Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan at his Bandra residence on Thursday. Sources report that the arrests took place on Saturday following coordinated operations in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.

The first suspect was arrested in Madhya Pradesh, with the Mumbai police working closely with local authorities to detain him for questioning. The second suspect, a 31-year-old man, was captured on Saturday at Durg railway station in Chhattisgarh while aboard a train, officials confirmed.

"We got information from Mumbai Police that a suspect is travelling by Jnaneswari Express train," Sanjeev Sinha, a representative of the Railway Protection Force told ANI.

The 54-year-old actor was attacked early Thursday morning at his Bandra residence, suffering multiple stab wounds, including to his neck and near the spine. He was quickly transported to Lilavati Hospital in an autorickshaw, where he underwent urgent surgery. Thankfully, he is now out of danger and is expected to be discharged by Monday.

The accused, identified as Aakash Kailash Kannojia, was traveling on the Jnaneshwari Express, which operates between Mumbai’s Lokmanya Tilak Terminus (LTT) and Kolkata’s Shalimar station. His photograph had been circulated by Mumbai Police to the Railway Protection Force (RPF), leading to his apprehension. An RPF official in Durg stated that a Mumbai Police team would soon arrive to take him into custody.

Mumbai Police, which had deployed 30 teams to track down the attacker, managed to recover CCTV footage capturing the suspect’s face. Based on their findings, they alerted the Railway Protection Force (RPF) at Durg around 12:30 pm on Saturday, informing them that the suspect was aboard the Jnaneshwari Express.

Following the alert, RPF officials at Durg contacted their counterparts at Rajnandgaon station, a stop before Durg on the Mumbai-Howrah route. However, the suspect was not located when the train halted there. It was only upon arrival at Durg station that he was found traveling in the front general compartment, an RPF official confirmed.

Also read: Saif Ali Khan attack update: Intruder seen buying headphones in CCTV footage

Mumbai Police had also gathered CCTV footage on Friday from a mobile shop in Dadar, where the alleged suspect had visited after the attack. According to Hasan, an employee at the shop named ‘Iqra,’ the man had purchased a pair of earphones for Rs 50.

More than 50 hours after the attack, the police continue their search for the primary suspect. Newly surfaced CCTV footage shows the assailant buying headphones at a Dadar shop shortly after the incident. Authorities believe the attacker may have used a local train from Bandra to flee or navigate through the city. To trace his movements, several police teams are reviewing surveillance footage from various railway stations across Mumbai.