No Gang Behind Attack On Saif Ali Khan, He Did Not Seek Security: Maharashtra Minister

No underworld gang is behind the knife attack on Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan, Maharashtra minister of state for home Yogesh Kadam said on Friday.

"A suspect who has been detained in connection with the attack is not part of any gang. No gang has carried out this attack," Kadam told reporters in Pune.

"There has been no intimation from Saif Ali Khan to police till date on whether he faced any threat," the minister said. "He has not sought any security cover, but if he does so, we will follow due procedure," he added.

Kadam said theft was the only motive behind the attack on the actor.

Khan (54) suffered grievous injuries after an intruder stabbed him with a knife repeatedly at his 12th-floor flat in upscale Bandra in the early hours of Thursday. The actor, who received multiple stab injuries, including in his neck, underwent an emergency surgery at Mumbai's Lilavati Hospital.

He is doing "very well" and expected to be discharged in two to three days, doctors said on Friday.

Kadam said the Mumbai police have detained a person whose facial features matched with the suspected attacker whose image was captured in CCTV cameras when he was fleeing the building.

The person has a criminal record and police were questioning him, he said.

Asked about possible involvement of a criminal gang in the attack, the minister maintained primary investigations have ruled out any such angle.

So far, theft seems to be the only motive behind the incident, he added.

"The Mumbai police have detained a person whose facial characteristics are similar to the man seen in CCTV cameras. The police are tracking one more person," Kadam informed.

CCTV footage showed the suspected assailant, wearing a red scarf and carrying a backpack, scurrying down the stairs from the sixth floor of the 'Satguru Sharan' building where Khan lives. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)