Saif Ali Khan Case: Bandra Police 'Didn't Take Attack Seriously', Alleges Crime Branch

Mumbai Crime Branch criticizes Bandra Police for delayed response and lack of coordination in investigating the attack on actor Saif Ali Khan, hindering the capture of the assailant.

Actor Saif Ali Khan was attacked by an intruder at his residence in Bandra in the early hours of Thursday.

Source : PTI

Mumbai Crime Branch has alleged the Bandra Police of not taking the attack on actor Saif Ali Khan by an intruder seriously and not promptly alerting the other units like the Government Railway Police (GRP) to block his possible escape routes. 

A senior officer of the crime branch said the assailant could have been nabbed had prompt action been taken within hours of the attack, which took at around 2 am on Thursday, reported Hindustan Times. 

The senior officer said the course of action taken by Bandra police "seems like a complete failure." The Bandra police "also did not alert the other police stations nearby and the crime branch to nab the culprit as soon as they came to know about the incident," the official added. 

According to the officer, the crime branch was informed about the attack at around 6 am, three and a half hours after the incident. 

“It was nighttime, and there was no crowd on the road. Had Bandra police alerted all other police stations, officials on patrolling vans, and beat marshals, they could have easily nabbed the suspect,” said the officer.

The Bandra police also did not share details like the First Information Report (FIR) copy and CCTV footage of the assailant with the crime branch and other units, the officer claimed.

The crime branch official stressed there should be a healthy competition between police stations and crime branch units in catching hardcore criminals like the assailant who stabbed Khan with a knife multiple times after breaking into his residence.

Another crime branch senior official said the Bandra police could have circulated the CCTV footage of the attacker to other units of the Mumbai police, the GRP, the Railway Protection Force and the crime branch and place nakabandi across the suburb,  especially near Bandra railway station and other entry-exit points.