Residents of Gulshan-e-Iqbal colony near Chandrayangutta have not yet come to terms with the arrest of locality man, Ubed-ur-Rahman by Karnataka police in an alleged terror plot in Bangalore.
This predominantly middle class locality was on Saturday abuzz with discussions, albeit in hushed tones. The arrested man’s mother Syeda Kauser, who spoke to a group of mediapersons, argued that her son was innocent and that he was taken into custody by the police two days ago. “We were informed about the arrest only after 30 hours” she said. Mrs. Kauser and other family members firmly denied the charge that Rahman was involved in any terrorist activity. It was disclosed that the young man went out of his house to get some books and was whisked away by the police. Rahman suffers from asthma and uses inhaler every few hours, his mother said. “I brought him up with great difficulty after my husband’s death and provided good education to all my children. I see him as a bread earner for the family”, Ms. Kauser said while fighting back tears. The colony is enveloped in a scare after the arrest of its resident on terror charges. No resident was willing to speak to the media corps. “Leave us alone”, was the terse answer to any attempt to strike a conversation with a locality person on the issue.
A few residents who spoke on the condition of not being identified described Rahman as a peace loving boy who would head to the nearby Masjid-e-Zuljalali every day for prayers. Media’s description of he being a ‘terrorist’ was not palatable to them.
Many saw this as an attempt to discredit Muslim youth. “It was done before. Three people from this locality were arrested earlier on similar charges but all were acquitted of terror charges and released later,” argued Baig, a shop owner who insisted that he be identified with his last name only.
Meanwhile, the Azampura corporator Amjed Ullah Khan, who called on the family members, alleged that the case was foisted against Rahman. He alleged that the arrest effected by Karnataka was to divert attention of people from the developments in Gujarat. He maintained that many a time police effected arrests of Muslim youth but they were subsequently acquitted of all charges.
