Saif Ali Khan’s Stabbing Sparks Safety Concerns Among Bollywood Celebrities in India

Thu Jan 16 2025
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Key points

  • Saif Ali Khan has been hospitalised after attack
  • Rest of the family doing fine, says statement
  • Megastar Salman Khan’s residence was attacked last year

ISLAMABAD: Bollywood star Saif Ali Khan was stabbed during an attempted burglary in the early hours of Thursday in Mumbai, Indian media reported.

Film stars and Indian opposition leaders called for tougher security after the accident and strongly criticised the government for the worst law and order situation in the area. Messages of solidarity poured across social media including from fans, and Khan’s Bollywood colleagues.

Reuters reported that Khan was in surgery on Thursday for six stab injuries received in a scuffle with a burglar at his home in Mumbai.

Saif Ali Khan lives in an apartment in the western suburb of Bandra, along with his wife Kareena Kapoor Khan, and their two kids, Jeh and Taimur.

Saif Ali Khan
The injured star was taken to a nearby hospital at around 3:30 a.m. on Thursday with six injuries, two deeper than the rest and one close to his spine, Reuters news agency cited Niraj Uttamani, the hospital’s chief operating officer.

“Khan is currently undergoing surgery … The extent of the damage will be understood once the surgery is complete,” Niraj Uttamani said.

Representatives for the star confirmed he was in surgery after the burglary attempt, media reported.

Official statement

According to the Statesman, in an official statement, Kareena’s team confirmed that an attempted break-in occurred at their Bandra home late last night.

“Saif had an injury on his arm and is currently in the hospital undergoing a procedure. The rest of the family is doing fine. We kindly request the media and fans to avoid further speculation as the police are conducting their investigation,” the statement read.

Not an isolated incident 

According to media reports, from Salman Khan to Saif Ali Khan, several actors have recently faced attacks, raising concerns about their safety in India. In April 2024, two men on motorcycles fired several gunshots outside Galaxy Apartments, the residence of Salman Khan and his family, according to Indian media.

Saif Ali Khan

Actor Pooja Bhatt also called for a greater security 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 social media, using a popular description for the trendy area.

“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, Reuters reported.

Who is Saif Ali Khan?

The son of ex-India cricket skipper Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi and actress Sharmila Tagore, Khan is among India’s most bankable stars, having featured over 70 films and television series. He joined Bollywood in 1993. He comes from a family of erstwhile Nawabs who ruled Pataudi, a small princely state on the outskirts of Delhi. Khan’s Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi was a cricketer who captained the Indian team in the 1960s.

Kareena Kapoor Khan’s team has asked fans and the media to exercise patience and refrain from jumping to conclusions, after an alarming stabbing incident at her and husband Saif Ali Khan’s Mumbai residence, local media reported.

Indian media reported that the family is currently dealing with a police probe into what is being described as an attempted burglary, which led to Saif being wounded. Police said that they were probing the incident, according to local media.

Indian media reported that Kareena and their kids were at home when the incident took place.

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