Saif thanks, gives money to auto-rickshaw driver who took him to hospital post-knife attack
Mumbai, Jan 22 (PTI): Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan has met auto-rickshaw driver Bhajan Singh Rana, who rushed him to hospital after he was injured in the knife attack at his home in Mumbai in the wee hours last week, and thanked him for the timely help.
The driver told PTI that Saif also gave him some money and assured all help to him whenever needed.
Asked how much money Saif gave him, Rana declined to disclose the exact amount, maintaining the actor requested him not to share this information.
However, the driver revealed that a social worker, Faizan Ansari, separately gave him Rs 11,000.
Rana said on reaching the Lilavati Hospital in Bandra just before Saif was discharged on Tuesday evening, he met the filmstar and his family members, and touched the feet of his mother, veteran actress Sharmila Tagore, out of reverence.
The auto driver said they treated him with respect and also clicked pictures with him.
He said Khan promised to stay in touch with him.
Khan (54) was repeatedly stabbed by a Bangladeshi national inside his 12th-floor apartment in the upscale Bandra area in the wee hours of January 16 during a robbery attempt. He suffered multiple stab injuries and underwent two surgeries at the private hospital, located a few kilometres away from the actor's building.
"I met him (Saif) yesterday (Tuesday) at the hospital. He called to thank me for taking him to the hospital. He praised me. I got the blessings from him and his family," the auto-rickshaw driver said.
"He (Khan) introduced me to his mother (Sharmila Tagore), and I touched her feet. He gave me (money) whatever he felt was right, and said whenever I need help he will be there," Rana said.
The intruder, Shareeful Islam Shehzad Mohammad Rohilla Amin Fakir (30), who illegally entered India last year and changed his name to Vijay Das, was arrested on Sunday from adjoining Thane city.
A preliminary investigation suggests the accused, currently in police custody, had entered the actor's home intending to commit theft, police said.
Meanwhile, police officials said on Wednesday that multiple departments under the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) at Kalina will examine key pieces of evidence seized during the investigation of the stabbing case.
A variety of materials, including mobile phones, clothes of the accused, and CCTV footage seized following the arrest of Fakir have been sent to the FSL for examination.
FSL departments such as Tape Authentication and Speaker Identification (TASI), Biology, DNA, Footprints, Physics, Cyber, and others will be involved in analysing the evidence, a police official said.
He said police didn't notice blood stains on the clothes of the accused seized from his bag when he was arrested from Thane.
The official said investigators are facing difficulty in interrogating Fakir due to the language barrier as he speaks Hindi with a heavy Bangladeshi accent. He has been asked to speak slowly so that police could decipher his statements.
Police on Tuesday reconstructed the sequence of events of the crime that unfolded at Khan's building, 'Satguru Sharan'. The accused was taken to a nearby building briefly during the recreation of the crime scene, the official added.
Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Nirupam commented on the “quick recovery” of the Bollywood actor.
“The doctors at Lilavati Hospital said the knife had penetrated 2.5 inches inside Saif Ali Khan's back and his 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 asked.
Shiv Sena (UBT) Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut also spoke of the actor’s speedy recovery.
“The knife was wedged deep, but Saif walked out alive from the hospital. This is nothing short of a miracle by the doctors,” Raut said.
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Karnataka Assembly passes bill on Palace Grounds amid opposition protest
Bengaluru, Mar 6 (PTI): The Karnataka Assembly on Thursday passed the Bangalore Palace (Utilisation and Regulation of Land) Bill, reaffirming state ownership over 472 acres and 16 guntas of land here, amid protests by the opposition BJP.
During the discussion, Karnataka Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H K Patil said the state government would have to provide Rs 200 crore worth of Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) for each acre of land, which means that for 15 acres, Rs 3,000 crore worth of TDR would be issued.
“If we accept it, then this 2-km stretch of road will become the costliest road in the world. If we accept it then how are we going to develop the city in later stages? How will you carry out development works?” asked Patil.
He also pointed out that this question was raised not only under the Congress government but also during the previous BJP regime.
However, the BJP-led cabinet has opposed the project.
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“Suppose we agree to it then, what will be the valuation of the 472 acres? It will be lakhs and lakhs of crores of rupees. Can we accept?” Patil wondered.
The Minister said the government had previously exercised its executive powers to issue an ordinance, which was approved by the Governor. Now the government is bringing a bill with two amendments.
“In this bill, we have made provisions either to develop or drop the road development work,” Patil explained.
However, BJP state president B Y Vijayendra and BJP MLA Arvind Bellad opposed the move, alleging that the government was targetting Yaduveer Krishna Datta Chamaraja Wadiyar, the scion of the Mysuru royal family, and the BJP MP from Mysuru-Kodagu constituency out of political vendetta.
“We talk of 472 acres of Mysuru Maharaja but here there are many Maharajas who too own 400 acres, 500 acres and thousands of acres of land, which is known to everyone,” Bellad said.
He slammed the Congress government, saying political power should not be misused for personal vendetta.
“Why (the then Deputy Chief Minister) Siddaramaiah brought the law in 1996 pertaining to the Bangalore Palace? Why are you setting eyes on the Bangalore Palace?” he asked.
Vijayendra charged that Wadiyar won the election on BJP ticket so the state government realised that it should acquire it.
“This bill has been brought for political vengeance. We are not discussing whether Rs 3,000 crore is exorbitant or not but the moment Yaduveer became MP, the state government woke up. You should be ashamed. This house should not be used for political vendetta,” he said.
Intervening, Minister Priyank Kharge said Vijayendra should not have raised it because the intention behind building the road was noble.
According to him, the BJP too had the same plan when it was in power.
He sought to know whether thousands of crores of rupees be spent on a road which should have cost significantly less.
In response, BJP MLA B A Basavaraj (Byrathi) said issuing TDR will not be a burden on the state government and appealed to the ruling Congress to reconsider its stance.
Minister Ramalinga Reddy too explained that the Karnataka government acquired the entire land way back in 1996.
The Mysuru royal family went to the High Court, which gave ruling in favour of the state government. The royal family then approached the Supreme Court, where the case is still going on, the Minister pointed out.
“The final judgment is pending in the SC to decide whether the acquisition was right or wrong. If the SC says it’s the royal family’s property then let it be so. If the order is in the state government’s favour then we can take a decision. The bill is only about it,” Reddy explained.
Speaker U T Khader then called for a voice vote and the bill was passed by the Assembly amidst opposition BJP’s discontent.
