Attack on Saif Ali Khan: Suspect detained in Chhattisgarh
Mumbai: Two days after Bollywood star Saif Ali Khan was stabbed at his Mumbai home during a robbery bid, a 31-year-old suspect was on Saturday detained at the Durg railway station in Chhattisgarh, officials said.
The person, whose photo had been shared by Mumbai Police with the Railway Protection Force (RPF), was traveling by the Jnaneshwari Express which runs between Mumbai Lokmanya Tilak Terminus (LTT) to Kolkata Shalimar.
Aakash Kailash Kannojia, the detained man, was "still a suspect", Mumbai police said in a statement later, adding that further action will be taken after due verification.
Earlier on Friday, a carpenter had been held as he resembled the screengrab of the suspected assailant from the CCTV footage at the actor's building, but he was released later as he was found to have no link to the crime.
Saif Ali Khan, 54, grievously injured in the attack in the wee hours of Thursday, was recovering well at Mumbai's Lilavati Hospital and could be discharged in two-three days, according to the doctors.
Mumbai Police, who had formed 30 teams to nab the assailant and recovered CCTV footage showing a suspect's face, informed RPF at Durg around 12.30 pm on Saturday that a suspect was travelling by the Jnaneswari Express.
RPF Durg alerted its counterpart at Rajnandgaon station (which comes before Durg on Mumbai-Howrah route) but the suspect could not be located when the train halted there, an RPF official said. He was found in the front general compartment at Durg station.
He was made to talk to police officials in Mumbai through video call. He was presently kept at RPF Post Durg, and a Mumbai police team would be reaching Chhattisgarh soon, officials said.
On Friday, Mumbai Police had collected CCTV footage from a mobile shop in Dadar visited by the alleged suspect following the incident.
"He purchased a pair of earphones for Rs 50," said Hasan, who works at the shop `Iqra', speaking to PTI Videos.
Saif Ali Khan,who has acted in films such as "Omkara", "Kal Ho Naa Ho", "Dil Chahta Hai" as well as Netflix series "Sacred Games", was stabbed by the intruder multiple times during Thursday's incident inside his 12th floor apartment at `Satguru Sharan' building in the upscale Bandra West area of Mumbai.
Doctors said the Bollywood actor, who has been shifted out of the ICU, is able to walk and having normal diet.
"We are observing his progress, and he is doing excellently well according to our expectations. As per his progress, we have advised him bed rest, and if he is comfortable, then in two to three days we will discharge him," neurosurgeon Dr Nitin Dange who operated on him had said on Friday.
Saif's wife and actor Kareena Kapoor Khan told police in her statement that the intruder got aggressive when confronted, but did not touch jewellery kept in the open, said an official.
A senior police official said the attack seemed to be a "stray incident." "The intruder was not working for any gang, as per the prima facie investigation. He probably was not even aware whose house he had entered," the official added.
CCTV footage showed the suspected assailant, wearing a red scarf and carrying a backpack, scurrying down the stairs from the sixth floor of 'Satguru Sharan' around 2.30 am on Thursday.
Maharashtra Minister of State for Home Yogesh Kadam has said that robbery was the motive and no underworld gang was involved.
As per Dr Dange, Khan had four main wounds; two in the hand, one on the neck and "the most deep and dangerous" one in the spine.
During the surgery, the doctors removed a 2.5-inch knife fragment lodged in his spine. They noted that if the knife had gone just 2 mm deeper, it could have caused a severe injury.
Autorickshaw driver Bhajan Singh Rana, in whose vehicle the actor was rushed to the hospital, finds himself in limelight.
Rana said he was not aware that the passenger with a blood-soaked kurta was Khan, a Bollywood star and Padma Shri awardee.
“He (Saif) walked into the auto. There was a seven to eight-year-old boy who also boarded the rickshaw,” he said when asked if the actor’s son Taimur accompanied him to the hospital.
“When we reached the hospital, he called out to the guard at the gate and told him: 'Please bring a stretcher. I am Saif Ali Khan',” he said.
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Marxism will remain relevant despite Left electoral's losses, says general secretary M A Baby
New Delhi (PTI): CPI(M) General Secretary M A Baby on Thursday asserted that the Left movement would remain relevant despite not being in power in any state, saying the ideology would continue to endure as long as social and economic inequalities persist.
Hitting back at BJP leader Rajeev Chandrasekhar over his reported remarks that Marxism had become irrelevant, Baby, in an interview with PTI Videos, said, "So long as there is division in society, so long as there is exploitation of the majority of workers, peasants and ordinary masses by a handful of billionaires, Marxism will remain relevant."
"That perhaps Mr Rajeev Chandrasekhar may not be able to understand, but this is the fact of the matter," he said.
Baby acknowledged that the CPI(M)-led Left was currently without an elected government in any state, but maintained that electoral setbacks would not diminish the movement's role.
"We may not have an elected government in any state. There were occasions when we didn't have a government. But the red flag and the commitment to organise and struggle for the rights of the dispossessed, marginalised and exploited will always be upheld by CPI(M) and the Left movement," he said.
He said the Left continued to enjoy support among workers, peasants, agricultural labourers, youth, students and women, and argued that the movement remained necessary because "oppression and assault" continued in society.
"So long as such problems exist in society, the red flag and the working class movement will continue to work among the masses," the Left leader said.
Exuding confidence on the Left's revival, Baby said the party would reflect on the reasons behind its electoral loss.
"We may be rejected in one election, but we will stage our comeback by understanding what went wrong with us," he said, adding, "We will listen to people and we will come back with higher strength."
Baby also criticised the Congress over reported factional tensions in Kerala after the Congress-led United Democratic Front's victory in the state.
"The way they are behaving is being watched by the people of Kerala," he said, referring to infighting within the Congress.
"Those who have given a massive majority to Congress and UDF would be watching all this," he added, while urging party leaders to "settle the problem in an amicable, democratic manner".
Referring to West Bengal, Baby alleged that violence had escalated following the BJP's victory in the state assembly polls.
"It is quite unfortunate that the moment BJP snatched a massive victory in West Bengal, violence has also started on a big scale," he said.
He also accused the Trinamool Congress of being "notorious for violent activities" and alleged that the "RSS-controlled BJP" had "unleashed violence in many places" after the election results.
"This is not good for Bengal, not good for the country. We wish and hope that normalcy would be restored as soon as possible," he said.
Baby said the CPI(M) and the Left in West Bengal would continue efforts to "pacify people" and avoid violence and confrontation.
Asked about former Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan not reacting publicly to the election results, Baby said Vijayan would respond "at an appropriate time".
