Arrests of Aysha Bano and her husband Zubaid has shocked and dismayed residents of Manjotti in Panjimogaru where the couple lived for the past two years.
“They were not socialising with other residents. It was a very quiet living family. We are shocked to hear about their arrests,” said Zubaid’s neighbour Arafat. He and other neighbours said it was difficult to believe reports accusing the couple of links with terrorist organisation.
The couple were arrested by Bihar police on Tuesday on suspicion of organising an illegal funds transfer racket. The police claim that the couple were linked to the ISI.
Aysha Bano and her husband Zubaid, who lived in a small ramshackle house, had three children with the youngest child being just four months old. “We did not find any suspicious activity happening in the house. Not many people visited their house,” said another neighbour.
Ms. Bano’s house Aysha Manzil was found locked when a team of The Hindu visited the place. Clothes of children that had been put for drying were still hanging on a rope in the rear of the house. Also lying in the rear end of the house was the weighing scale used by Zubaid, a beedi merchant, for weighing tobacco.
Neighbours said they saw Ms. Bano and her family members in the house around 8 p.m. on Monday. The house was locked since Tuesday morning.