Cracking Saif Ali Khan case in a jiffy: A shout-out to Mumbai police

It was in 1975 (or perhaps the first half of 1976) that I first set eyes on Saif Ali Khan. He was fast asleep on the upper berth of a coupe on a Mumbai-Ahmedabad train. The berth was booked in the name of his father, the Nawab of Pataudi, Mansoor Ali Khan, a former captain of India’s cricket team. The Nawab and I had dinner on the lower berth, which was booked in my name. Ten years later, he came to my Chandigarh bungalow to interview me. He recalled our train journey and I inquired about his son. A few years ago, I met Saif and his wife, Kareena, at the Mahalaxmi Race Course. It was the day of the Indian Derby. Saif and I were guests of our mutual friend, Farouq Rattonsey, whose horses had won the race in two successive years previously. I took advantage of the occasion to recount to him that train journey. Earlier this month, I found his name and pictures splashed across newspapers and news channels for his brush with an intruder in his 11th-floor residence in Mumbai’s tony suburb of Bandra, where many Bollywood actors live. Saif was stabbed when he confronted the intruder. He had to go to a private, well-known hospital close to his home for medical treatment, including a surgery in close proximity to the spine. It was a delicate operation expertly performed by the hospital’s competent doctors. Saif recovered in five days and was discharged. An unnecessary controversy was kicked up in the electronic and print media on unrelated issues like why his wife did not accompany him to the hospital and why he chose an autorickshaw over an Uber or an Ola. (Answer: It was easily available outside his residence). The worst was yet to come. In the days following the assault, critics of the Maharashtra Government went to town proclaiming a total collapse of law and order. They denigrated my city of Mumbai as the most dangerous place to live in and its police force as the pits as far as security of life and property was concerned. Arnab Goswami, the doyen of sensation-seeking newshounds, found fault with every move the police made to nab the culprit. He was still smarting from the fact that the Mumbai Police had dared to arrest him and put him behind bars for a few days for trying to build up viewership through sensationalism.