Is there any underworld link to attack on Saif Ali Khan? Maharashtra minister says 'Was not even aware whose...'

The intruder who stabbed Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan at his home in Mumbai remains at large despite more than 30 teams on the lookout for him, while a Maharashtra minister ruled out underworld link to the brutal attack. The attacker was not working for any criminal gang and probably was not even aware whose house he had entered, police said on Friday, citing their investigation carried out so far.

Police picked up a carpenter in connection with the attack on Khan (54) at his apartment in the wee hours of Thursday as he resembled the intruder and brought him to the Bandra police station for questioning on Friday morning but released him later.

A senior police official clarified that the man was not related to the attack on Khan, and no one has been arrested so far. "The person detained has been released. He was picked up as he looked like the intruder captured in the CCTV footage. But he had an alibi, which was verified by the police. Based on that, the detained person has been released. Our probe is still on. We are looking at all angles,” said the senior official.

“This seems to be a stray incident. The alleged intruder was not working for any gang, as per the prima facie investigation. He probably was not even aware whose house he had entered in,” he added.

He said more than 30 teams have been formed to track down and nab the attacker, who stabbed Khan in his 12th-floor apartment during a robbery attempt.

The attacker's face was captured in CCTV footage. 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.

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

The filmstar is recovering well at Lilavati Hospital, where he was taken after the brutal attack by an intruder in the early hours of Thursday that left him with multiple wounds, and is expected to be discharged in two to three days, doctors treating him said.

“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,” said Dr Nitin Dange, a neurosurgeon at Lilavati Hospital.

He said a team of doctors checked on him and made him walk.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by DNA staff and is published from PTI)

READ | Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah star Gurucharan Singh gets discharged from hospital: 'Sar par bahot se karze...'