The Bangladeshi national arrested for allegedly stabbing actor Saif Ali Khan had panicked upon seeing his image on TV channels and was planning to flee to his native country when he was nabbed, police officials said on Monday.

Police also said the 30-year-old attacker asked his brother in Bangladesh to send documents which helped cops to ascertain his identity as a resident of the neighbouring country.

The accused, identified as Shariful Islam Shehzad Mohammad Rohilla Amin Fakir who changed his name to Vijay Das, was arrested on Sunday after an extensive examination of CCTV footage, which showed him riding a motorcycle on January 9, a week before the violent attack.

Khan was repeatedly stabbed by the intruder inside his upscale Bandra apartment on Thursday, necessitating surgery.

The shocking nature of the attack raised serious concerns regarding security at the 'Satguru Sharan' building where Khan lives with his family and about the motive for targeting the Bollywood star.

As the investigations progressed, teams of Mumbai Police combed through hours of footage from different areas of the city to gather evidence.

Initially, police faced challenges in tracing the lone assailant.

Fakir, a native of Jhalokathi district in Bangladesh, had been residing in Mumbai for over five months, working odd jobs and associated with a housekeeping agency, police said.

Mumbai police identified the intruder from CCTV grab and ascertained that he was riding a motorcycle at a crossing in suburban Andheri on January 9, officials said.

The motorcycle owner informed police that he was Fakir's former employer. This lead helped police obtain the suspect's phone number, which was placed under surveillance, the officials said.

In a breakthrough on Saturday night, police tracked a digital payment made by the suspect at a food stall near Century Mills in Worli, where he ordered Bhurji Pav (popular scrambled egg dish made with eggs, onions, tomatoes, and spices) and a bottle of water.

This digital footprint helped the police to trace his location to Thane and search teams were deployed in the area, the officials said.

The accused was eventually located lying on the ground in a dense mangrove area near a labour camp at Hiranandani Estate in Thane.

During interrogation, Fakir said he panicked upon seeing his image flash on TV news channels and social media. He claimed that he planned to flee back to Bangladesh, officials said.

The officials said that fingerprints collected from the duct and washroom window at the crime scene will be matched with those of the accused as part of the ongoing investigation.

The attacker slept soundly after the attack and changed his clothes before heading to Worli, another police official said.

The official said that after attacking the actor, the accused had a restful sleep at a bus stop, changed his clothes and reached Bandra railway station, from where he travelled to Dadar and later to Worli before heading to Thane city.

He had taken precautions to evade the police but got caught because of his backpack, the official said.

The official said the police had observed the backpack the accused was carrying in the CCTV footage they analysed, and this gave a direction to the probe.

Later, with the help of CCTV, data dump and online payment, the police traced the accused.

Based on the image of the accused's face captured on CCTV, police analysed persons with criminal records who looked like him and detained a few suspects but when nothing materialised, they checked CCTV footage from Bandra area again, the official said.

The accused was seen in a CCTV footage walking towards the Bandra railway station around 7 am, and he had changed his clothes, he said.

The accused, who had worked in a pub in Worli, stayed on the premises on the night of January 16 and went unnoticed. The next day, he approached a labour contractor in the area for work and left for Thane.

A court has remanded the accused in five-day police custody after observing that the police's contention of an international conspiracy cannot be ruled out.

He has been charged under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita sections 311 (robbery or dacoity with the intent to cause grievous hurt or death), 331(4) (house-breaking) and other offences as well as provisions of the Passport Act.

Maharashtra minister Ashish Shelar on Monday accused Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) of "hypocrisy" for political gain over illegal immigration of Bangladeshis in the context of the attack on Saif Ali Khan.

Shiv Sena (UBT) had targeted the Devendra Fadnavis-led government over the attack and questioned its ability to ensure security for people and celebrities.

Shelar, who heads Mumbai BJP unit, dared Thackeray to confront West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee over the illegal immigration of Bangladeshis and her opposition to the deployment of the BSF on the border.

"Illegal immigration of Bangladeshi citizens does not occur in states like Assam and Tripura, where the BJP is in power. It is happening in Mamata Didi's West Bengal. Why Uddhav Thackeray has not confronted her about this illegal immigration? She opposes the deployment of the Border Security Forces in her state," Shelar stated on X.

Doctors at Mumbai’s Lilavati Hospital, where Saif Ali Khan is undergoing treatment, said the actor is recovering and may be discharged soon.

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