Abdul Wasi, Mohsin's landlord, said, "Mohsin is a good man. He was religious, but not a fanatic. He always stressed on doing good work. I never got any complaints about him the last one-and-half years."
Saeeda Begum, mother of Tariq, an arrested accused. Pics/Pradeep Dhivar
"Come quickly, thieves are trying to break into our house." This is the plea Mushahidul Islam alias Tariq, 23, sent out to his neighbours around 3 am on Tuesday, just minutes before the Maharashtra ATS stormed in and dragged him out of his home in the dead of night.
Tariq was among nine terror suspects who were arrested on January 22 for alleged links to ISIS and allegedly plotting chemical attacks in the state. Tariq, his brother-in-law Mohsin Khan, 32, Mohsin's 17-year-old brother and brother-in-law Qazi Sarfaraz Ahmad, 25, were arrested from Aurangabad.
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The Aurangabad ATS produced the accused in court on Wednesday. Pic/Abdul Basi
'Don't believe the cops'
Tariq's family maintained that all four are innocent. Tariq's mother, Saeeda Begum said, "My son was so shy, he never even spoke to elders. He never had the guts to raise his voice. Now the police are saying that he hatched a plan to kill people, how is this possible? I don't believe a single word they [police] are saying."
Speaking about the arrest, she recalled, "Around 3 am, the police stormed into our house. They broke our gate and were yelling, We got scared, we didn't have the slightest idea what was happening. My son was sleeping at first, but woke and thought that thieves were trying to get in. He told the neighbours to come to aid. Everyone gathered at our house and that's when we all realised that it was the police."
Sayyed Mukhtar Ahmed, family member of Tariq, said the ATS took away the hard disk from the computer at their home
"They arrested my son, and then my son-in-law Mohsin from his house. They told us they were taking the boys for investigation and would return them, but they didn't so that," added Saeeda. She said Tariq ran a printing business, and made wedding cards and other items. The police have alleged that Tariq had "objectionable material" on his computer, and also accused him of allowing Mohsin — the alleged mastermind — to connect with extremists on his computer.
Respected family
Saeeda said their family was well-known and respected in Quaisar Colony in Old Aurangabad. "We have been living here for 50 years. I have five sons and three daughters, all are well settled. Four of my sons are settled in Saudi Arabia, Mushahidul stayed with me as I was alone after my younger daughter got married to Mohsin, whom the police are calling the 'mastermind' of the plan. Mohsin is a good man, and we have been very happy since he married my daughter," she added.
One of her sons-in-law, Sayyed Mukhtar Ahmed, said, "This family has never even had a verbal spat with anyone in the last 25 years. I just can't believe what the cops are
saying. We are utterly shocked. They said these boys had some objectionable material. I don't know what they mean by that. Mushahidul worked with computers, so obviously he had a router, printer and hard disk."
The family added that the police had taken these gadgets away. Sayyed added, "Mohsin, too, was doing well in the shoe business we had helped him set up. Six months ago, he was blessed with a baby boy." Abdul Wasi, Mohsin's landlord, said, "Mohsin is a good man. He was religious, but not a fanatic. He always stressed on doing good work. I never got any complaints about him the last one-and-half years."
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