Bengaluru Blast: IM alleged arrested, family speaks-out

Bengaluru: The family members of the three suspected members of banned outfit Indian Mujahideen, who were arrested for their involvement in the Dec 28 Church street blast talk to press at Press Club on Saturday January 10.

The family of a homeopathy doctor, who was arrested by the Bangalore police for being an alleged supplier of explosives to the Indian Mujahideen terror outfit, has alleged that the police have mistaken Dr Syed Ismail Afaque’s communications with his wife’s family in Pakistan as interactions with members of the Indian Mujahideen.

“Afaq married a Pakistani woman in 2005 and regularly talks with his in-law’s over the phone. Is it illegal to converse with people in Pakistan?” Dr Afaque’s mother Noorunneesa asked at a press conference on Saturday.

Based on intelligence inputs police raided houses in Bangalore and Bhatkal town on Thursday afternoon and arrested Syed Ismail Afaq, 34, Saddam Hussein, 35, and Abdus Subur, 24, for alleged links to the Indian Mujahideen terror outfit.

Police claimed to have found a large quantity of ammonium nitrate, detonators, electronic timer devices, digital circuits, wires, PVC pipes, gel based explosive material and fuel oil at the residence of Abdus Subur, a cousin of Dr Afaque.

One of the allegations brought against Dr Afaque by the police is that he was frequently in touch with some Indian Mujahideen leaders who are based in Karachi. The police have accused Dr Afaque of being the supplier of explosives used by the Indian Mujahideen in many blasts in India.

Dr Afaque’s parents Aleem Lanka, 73, and Noorunnisa,71, however said on Saturday that their son a popular homeopathic doctor in his home town of Bhatkal was an innocent man. Afaque was married to a woman Arsala Abeer who hails from Karachi and frequently communicates with her family in Pakistan, his father Aleem said. Police have alleged that some of the communication involving Dr Afaque was with absconding Indian Mujahideen men from Bhatkal who are hiding in Karachi.

“Police in plain clothes came to our house around 2.15 pm on Thursday and searched the entire house. I heard one of them saying they did not find any thing,” Noorunneesa said.

Along with Dr Afaque’s family the families of the other two arrested persons also voiced protests over the arrests of their kin under terrorism charges and accused the police of framing the innocent. They alleged that the police were targeting residents of the minority dominated Bhatkal town. The families have demanded honest and impartial investigations in the case.

MBA student Abdul Subur’s father Mohammed Hussain, 62, said his son was away in Bangalore on project work when the police arrested him without any valid reasons. “My wife wanted to donate a kidney to her brother who is hospitalized in Kerala. We were undergoing medical checks in Calicut when I received a phone call saying my son has been arrested for alleged terror links,” Hussain said. The police broke open his Bhatkal residence that was locked for the last two months, Hussain said. The police did allow any independent parties to witness the raid, he claimed. “Everyone in Bhatkal knows my son is an innocent boy,” Subur’s mother Kamarunnissa said.

Scrap merchant Saddam Hussain’s father Fairoz Khan said that his son, the sole breadwinner in a family with three small children, was out distributing wedding invitations for his sister’s marriage when he was arrested. “He is just a scrap merchant and a school drop out. He has three kids including a new born girl,” he said.

“My son was picked up when he was out inviting people for his sister’ wedding. We found a life partner for my daughter after much searching. Now, we have doubts about this marriage scheduled for January 28 taking place due to the arrest of my son Hussain,” Khan said.