Saif Ali Khan ‘out of danger’ after being stabbed six times in attempted robbery

Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan was stabbed outside his Mumbai residence during an attempted burglary in the early hours of Thursday and is currently hospitalised, Indian media reported.

Mumbai police said Khan was out of danger. “He is being treated… and is out of danger,” senior police officer Dikshit Gedam told Reuters.

The doctors treating him concurred that Khan, 54, was “on the path to complete recovery” after receiving stab wounds on his spine, neck and hand, the doctors told reporters.

“He sustained a major injury to the thoracic spinal cord due to a lodged knife in the spine. Surgery was performed to remove the knife and also repair the leaking spinal fluid,” said Nitin Dange, one of the doctors operating on Khan.

Khan was attacked just after midnight when he tried to stop the intruder, believed to be a burglar, from entering his apartment in the upscale neighbourhood of Bandra, police and local media said. A female employee at the apartment was also attacked and was being treated, police said.

Police had identified the perpetrator and had launched a search for him, Gedam told reporters. “The accused attempted to enter through a fire escape. It appears to be a robbery attempt,” he said.

The Pataudi family released an official statement following the attack, Filmfare reported. “There was an attempted burglary at Mr Saif Ali Khan’s residence. He is currently in hospital undergoing a surgery. We request the media and fans to be patient. It is a police matter. We will keep you updated on the situation.”

According to the publication, Khan’s wife Kareena Kapoor’s team also put out a statement: “There was an attempted burglary in Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor Khan’s residence last night. Saif had an injury on his arm for which he is in hospital, undergoing a procedure. The rest of the family is doing fine. We request media and fans to be patient and not speculate any further as the police is already doing their due investigations. Thank you all for your concern.”

Khan sustained six stab wounds, of which two are deep, said Dr Niraj Uttamani the chief operating officer of Lilavati Hospital where the actor is being treated. He added that a small piece of a foreign body had been identified close to the spine.

According to NDTV, Dr Uttamani said in an official statement that Khan was stabbed by an unidentified person at his home in Bandra and was brought to the hospital at 3:30am.

Sources at the hospital told Hindustan Times that one of the injuries was quite deep and the actor received 10 stitches for the wound. However, it did not affect his spine or vital organs. The source stated that Khan was thwarting a robbery attempt.

Film stars and opposition leaders called for tougher security.

“If such high-profile people with … security can be attacked in their homes, what could happen to common citizens?” Clyde Crasto, spokesperson of the Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party, said on messaging platform X.

Actor and filmmaker Pooja Bhatt also called for a greater police presence in the suburb, home to many in the film industry. “The city, and especially the queen of the suburbs, have never felt so unsafe before,” she said on X, using a popular description for the trendy area.