Four male domestic helpers were present inside the flat during the attack on Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan inside his Bandra home in Mumbai, but none intervened to stop the intruder despite hearing the screams of three female house staffers, sources said.

One of the male staff allegedly hid within the house, while the others remained paralysed with fear, they said. Instead, it was the quick thinking of the female house helpers who managed to lock the accused, Mohammad Shariful Islam Shehzad, in a room after the attack, sources added.

As per sources, Shehzad, believed to be a Bangladeshi national, climbed up to the tenth floor of the building using the stairs, scaled the eleventh floor via a duct pipe and entered the flat through a bathroom that lacked protective grills.

The bathroom was located inside a bedroom, allowing him access to the interior of the house. After the attack on Saif Ali Khan, Shehzad was locked in a room by the female staff, but he retraced his path, escaping through the same bathroom and climbing down to the tenth floor via the pipe before fleeing, sources further said.

The attack occurred on January 16 when Shehzad reportedly entered the home with the intention of committing theft. However, the situation escalated when he was spotted by a house help in the room of Saif’s younger son, Jeh.

The staff raised an alarm, prompting Saif to confront the intruder. During the altercation, the actor was stabbed multiple times, including a serious wound near his spine.

Saif was rushed to Lilavati Hospital in an autorickshaw, where an emergency surgery was performed to stop spinal fluid leakage and remove a knife that was lodged in his back. Doctors have since said that Saif is stable and expected to be discharged soon.

Kareena Kapoor Khan, in her statement to the police, confirmed that the intruder had grown aggressive during the scuffle but did not touch any jewellery which was left in plain sight.

Shehzad was arrested on January 20 from a labour camp in Thane. Documents seized by the police indicated that he had entered India illegally and was using multiple aliases, including Bijoy Das, Vijay Das, and Mohammad Illyas.

Prior to his capture, police circulated CCTV footage of the suspect descending the stairs in Saif’s building, aiding in his identification and arrest. A court remanded Shehzad to five days in police custody, and he is currently being held at the Bandra Police Station.