On the night of January 16, an armed robbery took place at the residence of Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan and his wife Kareena Kapoor in Bandra, Mumbai. Eliyamma Phillip, Saif Ali Khan’sKhan’s domestic help, has filed a complaint with the Bandra Police Station, triggering an FIR under the sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for armed robbery, attempt to cause death or grievous hurt and house trespass.
Eliyamma Phillip, who has worked with the Khans for the past four years as the nanny to their younger son Jeh, recounted the terrifying sequence of events that unfolded that fateful night. According to her, she first heard the sounds of an intruder at around 2:30 a.m. Initially, she assumed it was Kareena checking on the children, but when she went to check, she saw no one. Feeling something was amiss, she decided to investigate further. To her shock, she saw a madman’s shadow emerging from the bathroom, attempting to enter Jeh’s bedroom.
“I thought it was Kareena who had come to check on Jeh, but when I didn’t-didn’t see her, I returned to my room. However, I sensed something was wrong. When I went to look again, I saw the shadow of a man coming out of the bathroom and trying to enter Jeh’sJeh’s room. That’s when I raised the alarm,” she told the police.
Phillips said after seeing the intruder walking towards Jehangir’s room, she rushed to save him where the man asked her ‘Koi Awaz nahi, koi bahar nahi jayega….’
Eliyamma Phillip said she then picked up Jeh in her arms but the intruder lunged at her, attacking her with a wooden stick and a hacksaw blade on her wrist. In an attempt to stop him, Saif confronted the man, asking, “Who are you? What do you want?”” It was then that the intruder launched an attack on Saif, striking him with a hacksaw blade six times.
Amid the chaos, Geeta, the nanny for Saif and Kareena’s older son Taimur, rushed out to help, but she, too, was attacked by the intruder with the hacksaw. During the struggle, the intruder managed to hide in one of the bedrooms and locked himself inside. Meanwhile, the male staff members heard the commotion and rushed to the scene.
In a desperate attempt to get Saif Ali Khan medical help, Geeta called Saif’sSaif’s elder son Ibrahim, who lives in a neighboring building. Ibrahim quickly arrived at the scene, along with another male staffer, Hari. Together, they rushed Saif to the hospital in an auto-rickshaw, as their car had no driver available. By 5 a.m., Saif was wheeled into the operating theatre at Lilavati Hospital.
Bandra Police have been investigating the incident, with DCP (Zone IX) Dikshit Gedam confirming that the intruder’s entry into the residence remains unclear, as there was no forced entry. CCTV footage later showed the suspect exiting the building through the fire exit stairwell, which has been crucial for the ongoing investigation. Police have since formed ten teams, with seven of them from the crime branch, to track down the suspect.
Saif Ali Khan, who had surgery for his injuries, is now healing in the hospital. His family has come together in support of him, especially Kareena, who is clearly shaken by the attack. Sara Ali Khan and Ibrahim, his older children, have also been at the hospital to help their father through this challenging period. Saif’s mother, the iconic actress Sharmila Tagore, and her daughter Soha Ali Khan also visited the hospital to be with him and his family.
