The lane which leads to Shakir Ansari’s house in the mohalla Badziyaulhaq of Deoband city, looked abandoned on Thursday. A 24-year-old small-time hawker, he stayed with his parents, Saeed Ansari and Naseema Bano, in a rented house. A day after Shakir was arrested on charges of being a suspected member of Jais-e-Mohammad, a banned terror group, this otherwise happening colony went silent.
Mrs. Bano, says, “My son can be every thing but anti-national. He is a regular guy who was trying to do something in life. The charges of him being involved in suspicious and terror activities are false and baseless. It was not even 6 a.m. We were all sleeping when the police raided our house and arrested him,” she adds.
Her husband Saeed Ansari used to work in lighting sector but is now unwell.
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According to his family members, Shakir had gone to study in a madrasa in Jodhpur last month.
That was the only time in the recent past that he was away from home for a long time. He came back to Deoband last week.
On Thursday, the parents were asked to vacate the house by the landlord.
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Neighbour speak
His neighbours who initially refused to talk, told The Hindu that “they did not notice anything suspicious” about Shakir all this while. “His arrest came as a shock for all of us because we know him as a decent person,” said Zaheer, a local youth. “There are rumours that the police arrested three more persons from Deoband and that few more arrests/detention are likely. It is scary,” said Zaheer, in his early 20s.
Senior police officials in Deoband are clueless. “We had no idea and frankly, we still have no idea what is going on. It was a Delhi Police operation. It was only on Wednesday morning that we were told by a raiding team from Delhi that there was some evidence against Shakir showing his involvement in terror activities,” said a senior police official at the Deoband PS.
A 24-year-old small-time hawker, Shakir stayed with his parents