About two months ago when a team of the Special Task Force of the West Bengal police raided the house of Indian Mujahideen (IM) suspect Mohammad Qateel Siddiqi at Darbhanga in Bihar, now arrested by the Delhi Police Special Cell, he vanished from the scene.
Two days after his arrest near the Anand Vihar bus terminal here on November 22, the police arrested Qateel's alleged accomplice Gayur Ahmad Jamali (21) from his house at Madhubani. Though his relatives concede he was earlier in contact with Qateel, they claim Gayur is innocent.
“Gayur was in touch with Qateel; how frequently they interacted we do not know. But when his name cropped up about two months ago and we learnt that the police were after him, we confronted Gayur. He told us that the day he found that the police were looking for Qateel, he severed all links with him,” said a relative of Gayur, who was pursuing religious education at a madrasa in Darbhanga.
Gayur's relatives said it was during one of the visits to Barh Samaila village in Darbhanga, where his maternal grandparents live and where he would occasionally offer prayers at a mosque, that he probably came in contact with Qateel.
“Had Gayur been involved in any conspiracy with Qateel, he would have escaped the moment he learnt that the police were mounting raids for Qateel. On the contrary, he remained at home with his father, who is a madrasa teacher,” said the relative.
About three days before Gayur was arrested, the local police informed the family that his name had come up during investigations in a case.
Gayur's brother said the raiding team told his father that they had with them something which belonged to Gayur.
