Mumbai cops question carpenter in Saif attack case

The man picked up for questioning by police in connection with the knife attack on actor Saif Ali Khan is a carpenter and had worked at his flat two days before the stabbing incident, an official said on Friday.

The official identified the man as Waris Ali Salmani and said he was taken to the Bandra police station for questioning after he resembled the intruder who stabbed Khan (54) multiple times in his 12th floor apartment in the early hours of Thursday during a robbery attempt.

The attacker's face was clearly captured in CCTV footage which surfaced on Thursday. The video showed the assailant, wearing a red scarf and carrying a backpack, scurrying down the stairs from the sixth floor of the Satguru Sharan building, where Khan lives, at around 2.30 am.

Salmani had worked at the actor's flat two days before the incident and was informed about the attack by the contractor who had hired him for the carpentry assignment, the official said.

Hours after questioning, police took him to an undisclosed location, he said.

A second official, on condition of anonymity, however, said the man brought to the Bandra police station for questioning was not related to the attack on Khan, who is recovering at Lilavati Hospital.

No one has been arrested yet, he said, adding that more than 30 teams had been formed to track down and nab the attacker, who is said to be aged between 35 and 40.

Maharashtra Minister of State for Home (Urban) Yogesh Kadam said robbery was the motive behind the incident and clarified that no underworld gang was involved in the knife attack.