The Mumbai Police has opposed the bail plea filed by the alleged attacker booked for stabbing actor Saif Ali Khan at his Bandra residence before the sessions court.

The police, in a reply to bail plea filed on July 24, claimed there was strong evidence against accused Shariful Islam. The reply added the probe has revealed that he is a Bangladeshi national illegally residing in India. Therefore, if he is released on bail, there is a strong possibility that he will flee to Bangladesh.

The police referred to a report by the Forensic Science Laboratory and reiterated its earlier claim that the knife fragment that got lodged near the actor’s spine, the broken blade recovered from the accused and knife blade part found at the crime scene matched and all three pieces are part of the same knife. The police further claimed that the crime committed by the accused was of “very serious nature” and if he is released on bail, there is a possibility of him repeating such crimes.

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Through the bail plea filed through lawyers, Vipul Dushing and Ajay Gawali, the accused had claimed that he did not commit the offence and there was no evidence to level charge of attempt to murder. The court had last week directed the police to file its reply.

Islam had filed a bail application in March, which was later withdrawn after police filed chargesheet in the case in April this year.

The court is likely to hear the bail plea on August 1.

The Bandra police on January 16 had lodged an FIR against an unknown person who entered Khan’s residence. Khan came out of his room after a staff member at the house saw an intruder and raised an alarm. After Khan questioned the man, he allegedly attacked the actor with a hexa blade, leading to injuries on actor’s hand, neck and back. Khan was rushed to the hospital and the intruder had managed to escape. The police arrested Islam from Thane three days later based on CCTV footage and other technical evidence.