Bakery blast accused Bilal's father, brother recall disciplined and diligent boy they knew before he left home, never to return

'He used to dread going out in dark'

Bakery blast accused Bilal's father, brother recall disciplined and diligent boy they knew before he left home, never to return

"WE don't know whether he is a terrorist or not. Yeh to sirf Allah hi janta hain (only God knows this)," said Mohammad Hussain Shaikh, father of German Bakery blast accused Bilal alias Lalbaba Shaikh (28).

Shaikh recalled how his son used to even fear venturing out alone in the dark. But that was before, as the police claim, he was indoctrinated by terror groups like Lashkar-e-Toiba and Indian Mujahideen.

THE SHAKEN SHAIKHS:The Shaikh home in Hotagi village of Solapur district. Pics/Salil Urunkar

"Once I asked Lalbaba to bring a milk pouch from the market, but he refused to step out of the house. He used to fear the dark, but that same boy one day suddenly left home," said Shaikh.

The small village of Hotagi near Solapur and the Shaikh family came under the media spotlight across the world when Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) chief Rakesh Maria announced the arrest of Bilal on September 8 for his alleged terror links and possession of explosives like RDX.

The ATS later discovered that Bilalu00a0 had reconnoitred the Maharashtra Police Academy and several religious centres in and around Nashik. The police say Bilal was residing in the Satpur industrial area after assuming a fake Hindu identity --he went by the name of Prashant. The police believe he had used other aliases in other cities as well.

"Bilal took away all his school and college documents and photographs when he ran away from home in November 2004. I had just retired from the railway police service and one day, suddenly, he said that he was going to some company for work," said Shaikh. "That was the last sentence of his we heard."Shaikh said all efforts to establish contact with his son had failed.

"Co-incidentally, Bilal's brother Sameer had also gone to Saudi Arabia in search of a job. We were left alone in
the village with both our sons not in touch. In 2007, Sameer returned to India and tried to look for Lalbaba, but his efforts were in vain," said Shaikh. "We all assumed that he must have settled down somewhere."
Then came the missive from the ATS that left the Shaikh family shaken.

"Our belief was shattered by the letter which we received from the ATS on September 15, stating that Bilal was arrested for his involvement in subversive activities," said Sameer. "Paisa, daulat vapas ata hain, izzat nahi (wealth can be regained, but not honour)."

The brother of the accused also recalled how diligent and disciplined Bilal was by nature.

"Lalbaba was very particular about offering namaz.
u00a0
He used to be present at the mosque even before us," said Sameer. "He was also a genius in his studies and had cleared all the exams up to college."

Family says it cooperated with ATS

>>Officers from the Nashik unit of the ATS have questioned Bilal's father and brother and scrutinised their bank passbook and passport.The ATS is trying to figure out whether Bilal received any funds from foreign accounts.
>>"We have provided all the necessary information related to Bilal to the ATS," said Bilal's brother Sameer.
>>Unfortunately he (Bilal) had taken away all his documents, so we had very little to share with the ATS."

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