7-Hour Forest Hunt: Police Nab Saif Ali Khan's Attacker After Intense Midnight Chase in Thane

Mumbai Police has revealed new information in the investigation of the attack on Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan. According to the police, the accused, Shariful Islam Shehzad, was tracked to Thane through his mobile phone. A senior police officer stated that the accused boarded a train from Dadar to Thane on the evening of January 17 at 6 PM. After boarding, he switched off his phone, making it impossible to trace his location beyond Dadar.

However, around 7 PM, upon reaching Thane, Shehzad turned on his phone to contact his family, immediately revealing his location to the police. Investigators pinpointed his location to a labor camp in Thane. Acting on this information, a police team swiftly reached the area.

A massive search operation involving 70-80 police officers began around 7:30 PM. During the operation, officers searched nearly 70-80 houses in the labor camp but were unable to find the accused. The accused had turned his phone off again, complicating the search. Based on local inquiries, the police learned that Shehzad had moved toward a nearby forest.

The police then launched a search operation in the dense forest. Battling darkness and using flashlights, the team conducted two extensive searches but failed to locate the accused. Despite growing frustration, the police decided to conduct a third search. Around 1:30 AM, during the third operation, a flashlight beam fell on Shehzad’s face as he lay semi-asleep in hiding. The sudden light woke the accused, and the police immediately apprehended him.

According to a senior officer from the Mumbai Crime Branch, the operation lasted nearly seven hours in the forest. Shehzad had initially sought shelter with friends in Thane but later moved to the forest. Unaware that he was being tracked, the accused intermittently switched his phone on and off from Bandra to Thane to avoid detection.​