Aakash Kailash Kannojia has been detained for resembling the attacker seen in the CCTV footage after the attack on actor Saif Ali Khan
According to police, a 31-year-old suspect was arrested from a train at the Durg railway station in Chhattisgarh on Saturday, two days after Bollywood star Saif Ali Khan was stabbed at his home during a robbery attempt.
The alleged attacker of Saif Ali Khan was on the Jnaneshwari Express, which connects Kolkata Shalimar and Mumbai Lokmanya Tilak Terminus (LTT), when Mumbai Police shared his photo with the Railway Protection Force (RPF).
Who is Aakash Kailash Kannojia suspect detained in the attack case of actor Saif Ali Khan in Durg, Chhatisgarh, biography, age, religion and photo
Attack on Saif Ali Khan: "We got a call from the #MumbaiPolice in the afternoon today and also received a photograph of the suspect. He was travelling by #JnaneshwariExpress, and we were asked to detain him. We checked the train and found him in one of the coaches, following… pic.twitter.com/gKrlWc6y67
— Hate Detector 🔍 (@HateDetectors) January 18, 2025
According to an RPF official in Durg, he was recognized as Aakash Kailash Kannojia, and a Mumbai police team will be arriving shortly to take him into jail. Aakash who is a Hindu by religion was found carrying a bag identical to the one spotted in the CCTV footage linked to the incident. Aakash is still a suspect at the moment though and will be confirmed as the attacker only after further verification.
“A suspect Aakash Kanojia has been detained from Durg, Chhattisgarh. Information about this suspect was received from Assistant Police Inspector Juhu Police Station, Mumbai Police that a suspect is travelling by Jnaneswari Express train and he shared the photo of the suspect. The suspect was brought to Durg RPF post and Mumbai Police officials were contacted through video call. A team of Mumbai Police will reach Raipur today to take the charge of the suspect,” said Munawar Khursheed, IG RPF SECR Zone, Bilaspur.
Doctors at Mumbai’s Lilavati Hospital meanwhile said that 54-year-old Saif Ali Khan, who was severely hurt in the incident, was making good progress and eating on his own and could be released in two to three days.
Around 12.30 p.m., Mumbai Police, who had assembled 30 squads to apprehend the attacker and had retrieved CCTV footage of a suspect’s face, notified RPF in Durg that the man was traveling on the Jnaneswari Express.
When the train stopped at Rajnandgaon station, which is before Durg on the Mumbai-Howrah route, RPF Durg notified its counterpart, but the suspect was nowhere to be found, the RPF official added. At Durg station, age 31 Aakash Kailash Kannojia who is the suspect in the Saif Ali Khan attack and robbery case in his Bandra, Mumbai home was discovered in the front general compartment.
#Breakingnews: Actor Saif Ali Khan attack case: Picture of the suspect Akash Kanojia detained from Durg, Chhattisgarh in connection with actor Saif Ali Khan attack case #SaifAliKhan pic.twitter.com/HVJwcq9Xgq
— Vishal Kanojia (@Vishal0700) January 18, 2025
After the incident, Mumbai Police gathered CCTV footage from a mobile shop in Dadar that the claimed suspect visited.
Early on Thursday morning, the intruder repeatedly stabbed Saif Ali Khan inside his apartment on the 12th floor of the “Satguru Sharan” building.
Saif Ali Khan’s health update
“We are observing his progress, and he is doing excellently well according to our expectations. As per his progress, we have advised him bed rest, and if he is comfortable, then in two to three days we will discharge him,” neurosurgeon Dr Nitin Dange who operated on him had said on Friday.
According to an official, Saif’s wife and actress Kareena Kapoor Khan told police that the intruder became hostile when challenged but did not touch jewellery that was left out in the open. Around 2:30 am on Thursday, CCTV footage captured the alleged attacker, sporting a red scarf and a rucksack, scuttling down the stairs from the sixth story of “Satguru Sharan.”