‘If my son is innocent,cops must not harm him. If he is wrong,he has no right to live’

Gayur,the police say,holds the key to solving attacks on Pune’s German Bakery,Bangalore’s Chinnaswamy Stadium and New Delhi’s Jama Masjid. He reportedly recruited over two dozen youths from India and Nepal for terror outfits. Another person,Mohammad Adil,an alleged Pakistani,was arrested from Sakri in Madhubani along with Gayur.

Nazrullah says no one has come asking him any questions. Or he would have told them how the third of his seven sons and a daughter was a devout Muslim,an impressive preacher and a well-respected authority on religious texts who had,importantly,never ventured far from home nor had any criminal records.

“I hate such people (terrorists) and want them to fight our BSF rather than wage this indirect war,” Nazrullah adds. “If my son is innocent,police must not harm him. And if he has done anything wrong,he has no right to live.”

Sitting on a charpoy in front of his two-room,mud-and-tile house here,the owner of a homeopathy shop recounts how he took loans to ensure that all his children received an education. Four of his sons work or are studying outside Bihar. Ghayur chose to stay back,and was doing his Masters from the Ahmadia Saifia Madrasa of Darbhanga. He lived in the madrasa’s hostel.

Ghayur,says Nazrullah proudly,had read most of the Islamic religious texts and would translate the Quran for villagers. “He knew the fine points of the Muslim personal law. Even police would at times seek his help to resolve petty marriage disputes. The best part is his capacity to deliver religious speeches. Youths who came to hear him would be so impressed that they would record it on their mobile phones to play it later.”

Some of these youths,Nazrullah adds,took Ghayur’s mobile number and would call him for “religious guidance”.

Apart from delivering discourses in Madhubani as well as Darbhanga and Samastipur,Ghayur was also invited by mosques for Friday prayers.

With their region near Nepal,this is not the first time Madhubani has seen arrests on grounds of terror links. “We have to face this,” says neighbour Rahim.

Ghayur’s family believes the misunderstanding has arisen because of the three passport size photographs and PAN card of Ghayur that were reportedly stolen a while back. “We should have reported it to the police but took it lightly. I suspect my son’s photographs and PAN card information might have been used for wrong purposes,” says Nazrullah.

Pointing to his ramshackle house,whose mud walls have to be repaired thrice a year,Nazrullah says his eldest son Saifullah,a Bachelor of Ayurvedic Medicine and Sciences at New Delhi,has been keeping the family going financially. “I can at best spare Rs 3,000 in a month. My children earn by teaching students and are supported by madrasas they study in.”

While Ghayur’s second brother Asadullah is doing a diploma in mechanical engineering from a Gulbarga (Karnataka) college,fourth brother Waliullah is a Hafiz (knowing Quran by heart) living in Maharashtra. The fifth,Samiullah,is doing an IT diploma course after his matriculation at Maulana Azad College of Hyderabad. Ghayur’s sister studied till Class XII,while the other children are still at school.

“As my wife and I are matriculate,we know the value of education,” says Nazrullah.

He hasn’t lost hope that his son would be back home soon. Police had been visiting his house for a week asking for Ghayur,and finally picked him up from a relative’s house. “I asked my son if he had done anything wrong. He said a firm no and went with the police gladly,” says Nazrullah.