11 December,2010 07:32 AM IST | | Ketan Ranga
Father of Varanasi blast suspect and Indian Mujahideen member Shahnawaz Khan says he last saw his son at the time of Batla House encounter in 2008
"Our life has been ruined since one of my two sons was caught by the police and the other went absconding," said Shadab Ahmed alias Mister, the father of Varanasi blast suspect Dr Shahnawaz Khan.
Shadab Ahmed, father of Varanasi blast suspect Dr Shahnawaz Khan believes his son is not a terrorist
While the police are yet to crack the Varanasi blast case, the fingers have been pointing on Shahnawaz, who is one of the most active members of the Indian Mujahideen (IM) module.
Shahnawaz has been absconding since the Batla House encounter in September 2008, in which his brother Mohammad Saif was injured and caught by the police along with other IM associates.
"We came to know through the media that my son Shahnawaz is a suspect in the Varanasi blast case. I don't believe that my son can be involved in this," said Mister, who stays with his family in Sanjerpur village of Azamgarh district.
Shahnawaz's family has been going through hell since 2008, when the names of the brothers came up to be associated with IM.
"We never had any contact with him since the Batla encounter. We tried to search for him but in vain. He too never contacted us, but this does not mean that he is a terrorist," said Mister.
The family is reputed, as Mister is the State committee member from Samajvadi Party and was the Vice President of Azamgarh Zilla Parishad during the Batla House encounter.
The family has always been under the police scanner. "The police keep coming to the village everytime there is a blast. They have picked up a number of boys from our village and have ruined many lives," said Mister.
u00a0
"Our boys went to study, they were killed and now are even suspected as terrorists.
I am fed up of these allegations. If someone knows where my son is, please tell me, I'll be most thankful."
A number of youths from Sanjerpur village are suspected to have joined IM. A youth from the village named Mohammad Sajid was also killed in the Batla House encounter.
During the series of blasts in Jaipur, Ahmedabad and Delhi in 2008, a number of people who were arrested and shown wanted were from Sanjerpur and from another village Saraimeer, seven km away from Azamgarh district.
About Shahnawaz
The investigations so far point towards Dr Shahnawaz Khan as he controlled the UP module of Indian Mujahideen and looked after the recruitment of members and sent them for training.
He did his Bachelor in Ayurvedic medicine and surgery (BAMS) from Lucknow. He got the youth from his village into IM while he was studying in Lucknow. A two-year-old girl was killed in the Varanasi blast on Tuesday.
