‘I saw profusely bleeding person, took short-cut’: How a quick-thinking auto driver saved Saif Ali Khan’s life | Mumbai News

MUMBAI: Bhajan Singh, the rickshaw driver who rushed Saif Ali Khan to Lilavati Hospital after the attack at the actor’s home on Thursday, was unaware of his passenger’s celebrity status at the time. Singh, who resides in a chawl on Pipeline Road in Khar (East), told TOI that upon seeing “a profusely bleeding person,” his only focus was to take a short-cut and get him to the hospital as quickly as possible to save his life.

During the ride, Khan remained conscious and kept asking Singh how long it would take to reach the hospital. “I assured him it would only take two minutes. The injured actor, wearing a blood-soaked white outfit, was accompanied by his domestic help, Hari, and his son, Taimur. He wasn’t panicking, though the situation was clearly urgent,” Singh recalled.

Singh admitted he did not initially recognise the injured man as a Bollywood star. “My sole intention was to reach the hospital as fast as I could. It was only later I realised I had a famous actor in my vehicle. Even then, I didn’t think of asking for the fare. Just knowing I could help someone like him in such a dire moment was a reward in itself.”
Singh, who works night shifts in the Bandra-Khar area, recounted how one of Khan’s domestic helpers flagged him down near Satguru Sharan, the actor’s residence. “It was a scene of chaos. Khan got in first, followed by his son, who sat in the middle, and Hari beside him.
The actor, visibly in pain and covered in blood, struggled to walk to the rickshaw,” Singh described. On arrival at the hospital, medical staff immediately attended to Khan and rushed him inside on a stretcher.
Singh’s chawl-mate, Harshitt Rana, added, “Singh, I, and three other rickshaw drivers from Uttarakhand have lived together in Mumbai for 20 years, sharing a home and a livelihood. While Singh drives during the night, I take the day shift.”