Father of Saif Ali Khan's attacker opens up: ‘He left Bangladesh to…’

Saif Ali Khan was attacked in his 12th-floor apartment in the upscale Bandra area during an attempted robbery.

Mohd Shariful Islam Shehzad, who stabbed Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan during a burglary attempt, left Bangladesh in April in search of a better job as he felt his future was bleak in his village, according to his father.

Shariful Islam Shehzad (left) was arrested on January 19 in connection with the attack on actor Saif Ali Khan.(ANI/AFP)

“Due to increasing political instability here, he felt his future was bleak in this village, so he left without any legal documents with the help of a middleman,” his father, Md Ruhul Amin Fakir, told The Indian Express.

He added that his son's eventual aim was to earn enough and move out of India.

Mohd Shariful Islam Shehzad was arrested by the Mumbai Police from neighbouring Thane city on January 19 in connection with the attack on actor Saif Ali Khan.

Saif Ali Khan was attacked in his 12th-floor apartment in the upscale Bandra area during an attempted robbery. He sustained multiple stab wounds and underwent two surgeries at a nearby private hospital.

The attacker later told the police that he stabbed the actor in his back multiple times to free himself from his tight grip.

His father recalled that Shehzad had transferred some money to his account after the incident and told him he had enough to buy food for the next few days.

He added that he saw visuals of his son on a television screen a few days later.

“I am astonished…We do not have any financial problems, and committing such a crime is not something any of us could imagine,” Fakir told The Indian Express.

Fakis claims that his son, after leaving Bangladesh, his son worked in a hotel in West Bengal before moving to Mumbai. He was regularly in touch with his family, which included his parents, wife and two siblings.