Our sons are not terrorists, they are innocent, say parents of the three arrested

BENGALURU: The family members of the three alleged Indian Mujahideen operatives, who were arrested on Thursday, have affirmed that they have full faith in the judiciary and a fair and impartial investigation will prove all of them were innocent.

At a press conference here on Saturday, the parents of the homeopathic doctor and the first accused, Syed Ismail Afaaque, said that he has been targeted as he was in touch with his wife’s family members in Pakistan.

“Our son Afaaque got married to a Pakistani national Arsala Abeer in 2005. Arsala is from Karachi and holds a valid Indian visa and is staying with Afaaque, and has three children.

As Afaaque is close to his in-laws, he speaks to them often. Just because somebody is in touch with his relatives in Pakistan, he cannot be tagged a terrorist,” said Noorunnissa, Afaaque’s mother.

Afaaque had also visited Pakistan during 2008-2009, when Arsala’s brother was getting married in Karachi. Arsala’s parents had shifted from Bhatkal to Pakistan before independence, the family added.

Noorunnissa and the third accused Abdus Sabroor’s mother Qammurunissa are sisters. They claimed that after Arsala recently gave birth to a child, Sabroor’s parents had shifted to Afaaque’s house in Bhatkal, located two kilometres away from their house, to take care of the newborn and mother. Sabroor’s house in Tengengundy in Bhatkal had remained locked for two months.

Qammurunissa said she and her husband had left for Kerala on January 7. They had gone there to undergoing tests at a hospital to see if she can be a potential kidney donor for her ailing brother, Abdul Raheem, whose both kidneys had failed.

“We got phone calls from our relatives and neighbours on Thursday, while we were in Kerala, that our house was surrounded by police. And later we came to know from the media that Afaaque, Azeez, and Sabroor were arrested by Bengaluru police,” Qammurunissa told reporters.

“My son is an MBA student and he had come down to Bengaluru on Thursday to do his project along with Afaque and his family. He is innocent and in Bhatkal everybody knows about it,” said Mohammad Hussain, Sabroor’s father.

Afaaque’s brother Abdul Azeez was also picked up by the police on Thursday, but was let off on Friday night around 11 pm, after he was made to sign an arrest intimation in respect of Afaaque and Sabroor, they said.

The second accused, Saddam Hussein, was picked up by police near a bus stand in Bhatkal. He was on his way to Shivamogga to distribute wedding cards for his sister marriage. Saddam’s family had moved from Shivamogga to Bhatkal about 30 years ago and his sister’s wedding was to be held in Shivamogga on January 28.

Saddam’s family stays in a small rented house in Bhatkal. According to the family, he was making a living by collecting scraps and selling them to scrap dealers.

He used to collect them on his bicycle, but lately he had hired an auto-rickshaw for the purpose. He is married and has three children, and has studied up to fifth standard. His father Feroz Khan is a painter.

“Saddam Hussein was tortured by the police and he was hardly able to walk when he came to the court. He has informed the court that he was tortured, and the court has asked for a medical report,” said Akmal Rizvi, his lawyer who is also fighting the case for Sabroor.