Bollywood star Saif Ali Khan was rushed to Lilavati Hospital in suburban Mumbai after an intruder stabbed him six times at his Bandra residence at around 2.30am on Thursday. Saif underwent surgery and is reported out of danger.
The attack, in the tony western suburb of India’s financial capital, provided fodder to Opposition leaders who were quick to cite NCP leader Baba Siddique’s murder on October 12 in Bandra and the recent firing outside actor Salman Khan’s residence in the same locality.
The knife attack on Saif Ali Khan, they chorused, intensifies concerns about safety in BJP-ruled Maharashtra.
Sanjay Raut: No one is safe in Maharashtra
“No one is safe. Let alone ordinary people, even celebrities who have their own security are not safe,” said Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut.
Police in the state are mostly deployed for the security of politicians, “especially those who defect”, Raut claimed. He added: “There is no fear of law. The government stands exposed.”
Atul Londhe: Fadnavis has failed to maintain law and order
Congress spokesperson Atul Londhe said that Maharashtra’s law-and-order situation had deteriorated.
Referring to the murder of the Beed sarpanch, who had opposed an extortion attempt, Londhe claimed the administration was working for anti-social elements.
Londhe also referred to the bullet-proof glass panel that was recently installed outside the balcony of Salman Khan’s Bandra flat after two members of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang fired outside the star’s residence last April.
“If such big people are not safe, what about common people? Even the hometown of Devendra Fadnavis has witnessed many murders and rapes in the last 10 days,” he said, referring to Nagpur.
“It clearly indicates that Fadnavis has completely failed in maintaining law and order in Maharashtra,” Londhe said.