Why 7-year-old Taimur accompanied Saif Ali Khan to hospital, not others

Saif Ali Khan attack: While initial reports suggested that it was Saif's eldest son, Ibrahim, who took his father to the hospital, a doctor and the auto driver who transported him contradicted the reports.

In Short

• Saif Ali Khan was stabbed 6 times at his home in Mumbai's Bandra
• Initial reports said Saif's eldest son Ibrahim took father to hospital
• Lilavati doctor, however, said the actor was accompanied by Taimur

Over 40 hours have passed since the attack on actor Saif Ali Khan at his upscale Bandra home in Mumbai. Amid an investigation and multiple theories on what went down, one question fuelled a whirlwind of speculation - who took Saif Ali Khan to Lilavati Hospital in an auto-rickshaw in the early hours of Thursday?

The auto driver who took Saif to the hospital, barely 2 km from the Satguru Sharan building in Bandra, said the actor was accompanied by a "small child", likely his seven-year-old son Taimur, and another person. The driver told India Today that the actor, whom he didn't recognise at first, was bleeding from the neck and his white kurta had turned red.

"He (Saif Ali Khan) walked by himself and sat in the auto. He was injured. A small child and one more person were with him. He asked me "kitna time lagega (how much time it will take to reach the hospital)". We reached it in eight to ten minutes," driver Bhajan Singh Rana said.

Earlier in the day, the neurosurgeon who operated on Saif also said that the 'Omkara' actor arrived at the hospital in an auto-rickshaw with his seven-year-old son, Taimur Ali Khan, and a caretaker.

"I was the first one to meet Saif Ali Khan when he came to the hospital. He was drenched in blood, but he walked in like a lion with his small child, Taimur. Saif Ali Khan is a real hero," Dr Niraj Uttamani said in a media briefing.

The statements by the auto driver and the doctor put firmly to rest initial reports that it was Saif's eldest son, Ibrahim Ali Khan, who took his father to the hospital. Some reports even claimed that only a domestic help accompanied Saif to the hospital as Ibrahim stays in a different building.

Despite differing narratives, it is still not clear why Saif was taken to the hospital in an autorickshaw and not in one of the family cars. Several reports, based on sources, claimed either the car was not "ready" or no driver was available at the residence.

Kareena Kapoor Khan did not accompany husband Saif to the hospital. A video on social media showed her pacing up and down and speaking to the house staff at the entrance of the building after the stabbing incident.

According to the FIR, Eliyamma Philip, one of the house staff, told the police that the intruder was first spotted in the bedroom of Saif's younger son, Jehangir (Jeh).

As per her statement, the intruder, around 35-40 years of age, allegedly demanded Rs 1 crore and attacked the house help with a blade.

On hearing the commotion, both Saif and Kareena rushed to the room. As Saif tried to overpower the intruder, he was stabbed six times, including in his thoracic spine. The intruder then fled and was caught on CCTV scurrying down the fire exit stairs of the building.

All this happened between 2 am-2.30 am on Thursday. Following this, Saif was rushed to the hospital, where surgery was performed to remove the knife and repair leaking spinal fluid.

While police are yet to catch the attacker despite a multi-team manhunt, questions have been raised about how such an audacious attack could be carried out in the home of one of the top actors in the country. Is there more to the incident than what meets the eye?