MUMBAI: Police in the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh on Saturday detained a second person suspected of involvement in a knife attack in which Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan was wounded.
Khan, 54, was stabbed six times by an intruder during a burglary attempt at his home in Mumbai early on Thursday. He had surgery after sustaining stab wounds to his spine, neck and hands, and is out of danger, doctors said.
“We got information from Mumbai Police that a suspect is traveling by Jnaneswari Express train,” Sanjeev Sinha, a represenatative of the Railway Protection Force, told ANI news agency, in which Reuters holds a minority stake.
“...Mumbai Police officials were contacted through video call and the suspect’s identity was confirmed. He has been detained,” Sinha said.
Police in India’s financial capital of Mumbai had on Friday detained another key suspect in the knife attack.
The attack on Khan, one of Bollywood’s most bankable and well-known actors, shocked the film industry and Mumbai residents, with many calling for better policing and security.
India police detain second suspect in Saif Ali Khan stabbing incident
https://arab.news/gcf7f
India police detain second suspect in Saif Ali Khan stabbing incident
- The Bollywood star was stabbed six times by an intruder during a burglary attempt
- Doctors say he out of danger after undergoing surgery in the wake of the incident
Indonesia to send record number of women officers to assist Hajj pilgrims
- Women comprise 33% of Indonesian Hajj officers in 2026
- They will assist the world’s largest contingent of Hajj pilgrims
JAKARTA: Indonesia’s Ministry of Hajj and Umrah on Friday concluded a training program for Hajj officers, a group that this year includes a record number of female guides to help Indonesian pilgrims perform the spiritual journey.
The world’s biggest Muslim-majority nation, Indonesia sends the largest contingent of Hajj pilgrims every year, comprising 221,000 people in 2026.
They will be assisted by more than 1,600 Indonesian officers who came from different parts of the country to participate in a 20-day training program in East Jakarta to prepare them for the roles, ahead of the pilgrimage season in May.
“Education and training for Indonesian Hajj officers … are carried out as part of the operational preparations for the 2026 Hajj pilgrimage,” said Puji Raharjo, director general of Hajj management at the ministry, during the closing ceremony on Friday.
“This program is aimed at ensuring the physical, mental, technical and organizational readiness of the officers in order to guide, serve and protect Indonesian Hajj pilgrims.”
Indonesia is sending more than 500 female Hajj officers in 2026 — its largest group of women guides yet.
“This year, women officers comprise about 33 percent, the highest in the history of Hajj management in Indonesia,” Arifatul Choiri Fauzi, the minister of women’s empowerment and child protection, told reporters.
As over 55 percent of Indonesian Hajj pilgrims are women and most of them are elderly, female officers can help ensure that they are treated with more care and empathy, she added.
Fauzi said: “There are many issues that are more suitable to be handled by female officers, things related to women’s issues, assistance inside the room, or emergencies that concern the privacy of the (women) pilgrims.”
The training program, which ran from Jan. 10-30, was aimed at preparing the officers physically and educating them on existing Hajj policies and mechanisms, while also covering operational case studies and lessons on effective communication and Arabic, as well as simulations of real-life situations related to the pilgrimage.
Indonesian Hajj officers will undergo a round of training online in February, before another session is held with reference to their departure locations in Indonesia.
“Every year, Indonesia sends the largest number of pilgrims in the world. This fact demands us to be truly ready and organized with officers who are dependable. Hajj officers fill a strategic role, you represent the state for the pilgrims, (and) you represent the state in front of the world,” Minister of Hajj and Umrah Mochamad Irfan Yusuf said while addressing this year’s batch of Hajj officers.
“This training and guidance program is therefore very important, as this is where you all prepare in order to understand the extent of your duties, strengthen coordination and come together in unity and discipline for the mission ahead.”
