Assailant who stabbed Bollywood actor still at large

An assailant who stabbed Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan remains at large and nobody has yet been detained in the case, an Indian newspaper has cited police as saying, contradicting earlier media reports that police were questioning a suspect.

Khan was stabbed six times during a burglary attempt at his home in an upscale neighbourhood in Mumbai early on Thursday.

Doctors who operated on him for wounds to his spine, neck and hands have said he is out of danger.

Indian television channels had earlier reported that police had detained and were questioning a suspect in the attack.

However, Indian Express newspaper, citing police, said: "The person brought to Bandra police station for questioning is not related to the Saif Ali Khan attack case. No one is detained in the Saif Ali Khan attack case as of now."

Bandra police station did not respond to Reuters' phone calls seeking information.

The India Today channel, among others, had earlier shown police escorting a man wearing a white T-shirt into a police station and it identified him as the suspect.

However, police officer Dikshit Gedam, a senior investigating officer, declined to confirm the detention, telling Reuters: "There's no update from yesterday regarding what we said."

The previous day police said they had identified the perpetrator of the apparent robbery attempt and had launched a search for him.

Khan, 54, one of Bollywood's most bankable stars, who has appeared in many films and television series, had walked into the hospital in blood-soaked clothes, accompanied by his six-year old son.

"If the knife had penetrated any further, there would have been an injury to the spine," Niraj Uttamnani, one of the doctors who treated Khan, told reporters, adding that the actor had escaped by a distance of just 2mm.

"He is very fortunate."

Another doctor, Nitin Dange, added, "He is able to walk, and he is stable."

The attack on Khan, who is the son of India's former cricket captain Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi and actress Sharmila Tagore, shocked the film industry and residents of the city, many of whom called for better policing and security.

In a statement on social media, Khan's wife Kareena Kapoor Khan asked media to stop speculating about the case.

"It has been an incredibly challenging day ... and we are still trying to process the events," the 44-year-old actor said on her Instagram profile.

The couple have two boys in addition to Khan's two children from a previous marriage.