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Saif Ali Khan was discharged from hospital five days after undergoing surgery, sparking a debate over his quick recovery. Actor was seen walking and waving his hand as he reached his residence.
Maharashtra Minister Nitesh Rane questions Saif Ali Khan’s stabbing (PTI Image)
A debate over Saif Ali Khan’s attack has broken out, with some political leaders questioning if he was indeed stabbed or he was “acting”, while others came out in support of the actor and his bravery.
Maharashtra Minister Nitesh Rane has raised questions over the attack on Saif Ali Khan, asking if the actor was really stabbed or if he was “acting”. Rane said that Saif, who was discharged from the hospital on January 21, was “dancing while walking” back to his residence.
His remarks came a day after Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Nirupam raised questions over the actor’s quick recovery in five days after he was stabbed six times by an intruder at his house on January 16 morning. Saif underwent a six-hour-long surgery as a 2.5-inch knife was stabbed in his body. The actor had also suffered an injury near his spine and had to be shifted to the ICU following the surgery.
What Did Nitesh Rane Say On Saif Ali Khan’s Attack?
Addressing an event in Pune on Wednesday, Rane took a potshot at illegal immigration, referring to the arrest of a ‘Bangladeshi’ man accused of attacking Saif, and said that he may have entered the actor’s residence to “take him away”.
“Look at what Bangladeshis are doing in Mumbai. They entered Saif Ali Khan’s house. Earlier they used to stand at the crossings of the roads, now they have started entering houses. Maybe he came to take him (Saif) away. It is good, garbage should be taken away,” he said.
The Minister said that the way Saif walked in comfortably to his home after being discharged from the Lilavati Hospital made him doubt whether the actor was “stabbed or he was acting”.
“I saw when he came out of the hospital, I doubted whether he had been stabbed or he was acting. He was dancing while walking. Whenever any Khan like Shahrukh Khan or Saif Ali Khan gets hurt, everyone starts talking about it. When a Hindu actor like Sushant Singh Rajput is tortured, no one comes forward to say anything,” Rane said.
The BJP leader further attacked the Opposition for taking a stand on ‘religious lines’.
“That Mumbra’s Jeetuddin (Jitendra Awhad) and Baramati’s Tai (Supriya Sule) did not come forward to say anything… They are only worried about Saif Ali Khan, Shah Rukh Khan’s son, and Nawab Malik… Have you ever seen them worrying about any Hindu artist… You guys should pay attention to all these things,” Rane said.
#WATCH | Pune: Maharashtra Minister Nitesh Rane says, “Look at what Bangladeshis are doing in Mumbai. They entered Saif Ali Khan’s house. Earlier they used to stand at the crossings of the roads, now they have started entering houses. Maybe he came to take him (Saif) away. It is… pic.twitter.com/XUBwpwQ6RQ— ANI (@ANI) January 23, 2025
Sanjay Nirupam On Saif Ali Khan
Raising doubts over the swift recovery of the actor, Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Nirupam said on Wednesday that Saif returned home “jumping and dancing” from the hospital. He sought to know how deadly the attack on him was.
“Has the medical sector progressed so much that Saif Ali Khan comes to his home jumping and dancing (after the attack)… It should be revealed how deadly the attack was and how badly he was injured. The family should come forward and disclose this because, after this incident, such an atmosphere was created in Mumbai that the law and order of Mumbai has collapsed, the Home Ministry has failed, the Maharashtra government has been ruined, and every citizen in Mumbai is unsafe,” Nirupam said.
“The way Saif came out (of the hospital), it seems as if nothing happened 4 days ago… I want to ask the doctors, can a person whose operation lasted for 6 hours come out in such good shape within 4 days?” the Shiv Sena leader added.
Pooja Bhatt, Others Come Out In Saif’s Support
On the other hand, Shaina NC, leader of BJP’s ally Shiv Sena, said that Saif walked out “like a tiger” from the hospital. She took a potshot at “certain people of the political class” and said that they were questioning the integrity of the Mumbai Police.
“Just because Saif Ali Khan walked in like a lion with a knife near his spine and his 8-year-old son, he has proudly walked out like a tiger. Instead of being happy for him and the fact that his life got saved, I don’t know what the media and certain people of the political class are doing by questioning the integrity of the police force. Let’s talk about safety measures in this high-profile case,” Shaina said.
Indian actor and director Pooja Bhatt has slammed the “conspiracy theorists” and said that the same people who are questioning Saif had lauded him when he had checked into the hospital on the night of the attack on his own.
“The graphic details of the stabbing that emerged in the media painted an image in people’s heads about Saif’s physical state. That image was perhaps not in sync with the visuals of seeing him walk out of hospital on his own two feet,” she said in an interview with ETimes.
She said that Saif has shown courage and set an example for others and therefore people should not speculate in his case.
“But don’t these very people forget that they lauded him for walking himself into the hospital as well? A man who checks himself into the hospital in a wounded, traumatised condition surely has the grit to walk out of the hospital on his own. We should be applauding this instead of resorting to being conspiracy theorists,” she said.
Opposition Reacts To Nitesh Rane’s Remark
Reacting to Rane’s remark, NCP-SP leader Rohit Pawar said that there is a need to recruit more people in the BSF and Army.
“My request to him is that instead of just speaking in front of the media, he should meet Rajnath Singh ji and request him to recruit people in defence, in the Border Security Force and make our border security more strong. After that, I think the number of people coming from outside will decrease,” he said.
National Conference chief Farooq Abdullah said that the entire nation cannot be blamed for “one man’s doing”.
“If someone has come and attacked Saif Ali Khan, you can’t blame a nation for one man’s doing…How can you put one person who does something on the nation? If an Indian does something bad in the UK, will you blame India for it? It’s that man, not the nation…How many illegal Indians are in America? President Trump has just given the figures. What would you call that?” Abdullah said.
Notably, the actor was rushed to the hospital on January 16 after being stabbed by an intruder, identified as Mohammad Shariful Islam Shehzad who is a Bangladeshi national. Shariful was arrested from Thane after three days of intense manhunt.
(With ANI inputs)
