By Rajan Narayan

THE Bangladeshi migrant Shariful Islam Fakir gained access to the penthouse of the actor couple Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor in a 12-storied building “Satguru Sharan” in Bandra, suburbs in Mumbai on Thursday, January 16, 2025 in the very early morning at about 2.30am. Shariful entered the building by climbing over a four-foot wall. He climbed a ladder that was lying around at the compound to enter the AC duct at a height of 12 feet. He scaled through the duct to the fourth floor. From there he took the staircase to the seventh floor.
He again used the air conditioning duct to gain access to the 11th floor flat of Saif Ali Khan, who is the son of the legendary Nawab of Pataudi Mansoor Ali Khan Pautaudi and actress Sharmila Tagore. Shariful entered the flat of the actor through a bathroom window. Presumably, nobody thought grills were necessary for the bathroom on the 11th floor.
The suspect whom the police claimed had confessed, was proceeding towards the bedroom of the three-year-old younger son Jehangir, the nanny raised an alarm when Saif Ali Khan and the 12 servants in the quadruple penthouse rushed to the spot where there was a scuffle. In true filmy fashion, Saif Ali Khan tries to disarm the intruder with his bare hands. The intruder was armed with the blade. Saif was protecting his wife and his two young children.
The cornered bugler savagely attacked the actor with his knife causing severe injuries to his spine. To the extent that a part of the knife actually got lodged in the spine of the actor. The actor managed to force Shariful into an empty room but forgets to lock it from outside. In the meanwhile, the family and the staff focused on the bleeding actor and how to rush him to hospital.
Despite the presence of their wife Kareena Kapoor and several other male staff, the actor went down the lift to the ground floor. He only had the support of a male member of the staff and his eight-year-old son Taimur. All the drivers had apparently gone home. Kareena was too shattered to drive the actor to the hospital.
The servant stopped an autorickshaw on the street and the actor was taken to Lilavati Hospital by about 3 am. Even though he was bleeding he was conscious when he arrived at the hospital. Thankfully, after a five-hour operation, the actor Saif Ali Khan seemed to be okay and will probably be discharged on Monday, January 20, 2025.
Incidentally, his insurance company very promptly cleared the major part of his bill of Rs33 lakh. The insurance company in a publicity stunt boasted that it had cleared Rs25lakh as cashless payment even before the final billing was submitted. Aam aadmi who pay insurance premiums have to wait for months before their claims are settled after much troublesome detail seeking and nit-picking.

LARGER QUESTION
THE larger question is that are any of us anywhere in the country safe from buglers and robbers when a superstar is not? If a jobless migrant from Bangladesh can gain access to the penthouse of a high-profile actor and stab him, what protection do the average citizens of this country have? It does not matter whether you live in an expensive flat in a high-profile building like the Mathais Plaza or the Models buildings.
Or even in an ordinary half-vacant middle-class housing complex at Caranzalen where I stay in a rental two bedroom, hall, kitchen. As in the case of Bandra’s “Satguru Sharan” the swanky new high-rise structure, the watchman on duty post midnight could have fallen asleep. The so-called security guards in most buildings are very poorly paid. On average a security guard even in an elite building complex does not get more than Rs15,000. Most of them are untrained migrant labourers who can earn less than Rs 10,000.
Most watchmen do dozen off on night duty because most of them also do multiple shift jobs and sleep catches up with them in the middle of the night. They dozen off on night watch duties. In the case of the high end building in Bandra we write about here the CCTV cameras in the building complex were not working, at the time the bugler climbed up to the actor’s apartment. It’s a badly planned building if the air-conditioning ducts permitted access to the residential flats.
Similarly, even water pipelines can provide a skilled bugler access to any flat in any building. All high-rise buildings have an emergency staircase in case the lifts break down. The security guards monitor the lifts but not the emergency staircase. It has been discovered that the suspect had been helped by one of the servants working for the actor.
It also has been revealed that Shariful had a criminal record. He had been arrested for theft from a bar he was working for in Worli. If the actor or a security team had done some homework and carried out a police verification of staff and employees working in the homes and building perhaps the life endangering incident could have been avoided.

WAKE-UP CALL
THE almost fatal knife attack on Saif Ali Khan is a wake-up call for all of us. Especially senior citizens like my wife and me who living alone on a ground-floor flat in a residential colony. We have several visitors throughout the day. Bright and early in the morning comes the newspaper delivery guy on his bike. Then comes the poe or breadman on his cycle at 7.15am, followed by the odd vegetable, fish and milk vendors who are mostly migrants.
Then there are electricians, plumbers and other working folk who come when they are called to fix something or another that’s not working and in need of fixing in one of the flats. The gas delivery man comes, the Zomato and Swiggy and Amazon guys do their delivery orders. Almost everyone is ordering for things online nowadays. Apart from the Amazon boys there’re the Myntra delivery boys.
Most of the time we tend to overlook the fact that we and the family are exposed to strangers all the time regardless of whether we live in a strict or lightly secured housing colony. Most small societies cannot afford to install CCTV cameras, they don’t have big budgets to provide 24×7 security. The consequence is that they are at the mercy of service providers. I grant you that 90% or even 99% of all the little people who make life a little more comfortable for us are honest, hardworking and more or less well-wishers. They will always be the 10% to 1% of strangers who will come knocking on your door to do a survey or recce with one thing or another and they can burgle your house later on smoothly. They have learned when the place you live is unguarded or the watchman dozing off. All security is comatose.
When the security guys take a break for lunch or dinner. Whether a house is occupied only by senior citizens. There have been many cases of not only theft and robbery but even of murder, particularly of senior citizens in Goa. Particularly in urban areas and homes in the villages which are in isolated places. It’s all grand to live in an ancestral house in a green village. But the risks are proportionately much higher of being burgled and/or killed. If you are senior citizen you should be extra careful about who you hire as a caretaker and who had access to your house or flat.

ALL CAN’T BE SAIF ALI KHAN!
PLEASE remember that all of us are not a Saif Ali Khan to be able to take on an intruder with without courage. The burgler or robber does not need a gun or sophisticated weapons. The migrant who man who got into the actor’s home had only a knife. But it was enough to cut him up in dangerous places on his body. I do not want to create panic. Compared to Goa, Mumbai is one of the most secure places to live in. Goa has virtually no security for its citizens, particularly senior citizens and children. We do not know if the local police may be relied upon to at any time of the day or night to come to the rescue in an emergency.
Seeing how private security guards are mostly a joke the only way of protecting yourself is to be very careful about whom you allow into your flat or house and do not open doors so easily or leave them open as we do sometimes awaiting a friend or someone who is expected. I would like to make a small suggestion. Be nice to your staff. Particularly to your maid servants, driver and security guards even though they may not be very professional. Do not antagonize them. They are more likely to watch out for you and come to defend you if you generous and kind to them.
But also be sure to take down the credentials of the people you hire. Don’t hire cooks, maids or security without police verification. Do not go only by Aadhar cards which may be forged. Don’t be afraid to ask to see an ID card of the Zomato, Swiggy and Amazon delivery guys. If you do not have CCTV camera please install these “magic eyes” on your doors. Through which you can peep out and see who’s at your doorstep pressing the bell before you open the door. Also, do not keep large amounts of money at home. You do not need to as you may now pay all bills online. If you have too much precious jewelry take a bank locker nearby. Don’t tempt those who come from poorer economical strata by flaunting your riches. Anyone can succumb to greed.
The tragedy is that even very rich families crib over paying their domestic servants, drivers, watchmen and other staff generously. Your life, comfort and happiness depends on these small people. Be aware of them and their problems. If you are am understanding employer you will reap much greater security, comfort and safety – then if you treat any working class people with disdain, ingratitude, cavalierly, and even try to cheat them.