By IANS
Bangalore : Families of terror suspect doctors Mohammed Haneef and Sabeel Ahmed are praying for mercy and early release of their sons, who have been held in Australia and Britain in connection with last week's terror attacks in London and Glasgow.
Even as the news of Haneef's detention for another two days in Brisbane has left his family grieving, Sabeel's doctor parents are shocked over his arrest at Paddington for his alleged involvement in the terror plot.
"We are praying to Allah for mercy on Sabeel as well as Haneef. We are shocked to know Sabeel has been arrested on grounds of suspicion," Zakia Ahmed, Sabeel's mother, told IANS Wednesday at her residence in a southern suburb of India's silicon city.
Incidentally, Sabeel, 26, and Haneef, 27, are not only friends but their families are also related distantly. Haneef's mother is the niece of Sabeel's father, Maqbool Ahmed.
When Zakia learnt about Haneef's detention in Brisbane Tuesday, she tried to get in touch with Sabeel, who is employed at Warrington Hansen hospital in Liverpool, and find out his welfare.
"Though I could not get him on line, I spoke to his friends and colleagues in the hospital, who assured me that Sabeel was fine and there was no cause for worry. But the news of his arrest has jolted us. We are praying to god to come out of this grave crisis soon," Zakia said.
Like Haneef, Sabeel too graduated from the B.R. Ambedkar Medical College in 2003, a year after the former graduated. According to Rajiv Gandhi Health University registrar S. Sacchitanand, Sabeel was an average student and took six years to complete his course.
"Haneef was bright and graduated right away in four-and-half years, while Sabeel, who joined the same college in 1998, had cleared the third and fourth year of the course in second attempt, but cleared the final exams in first attempt itself," Sacchitanand pointed out.
Maqbool and Zakia are confident their doctor son would be set free soon.
"Our son is innocent. No one from the hospital or the British police has contacted us. Sabeel's solicitor told us our son was arrested Sunday and held at the Paddignton police station in connection with the investigations in the failed terror strikes in London and Glasgow," Maqbool pointed out.
Meanwhile, Haneef's family also said their son was innocent and had no connection with the terror plot.
Haneef's mother Qurrathulain, wife Firdous, sister Sumayya and younger brother Shoaib were disappointed over the extension of his detention at Brisbane for further interrogation.
"We were hoping of his early release after an official from the Indian high commission from Canberra called us late Tuesday and sought some details on his return to Bangalore in the early hours of Monday via Singapore.
"We were told efforts would be made to secure Haneef's early release and all assistance was being provided to him by the high commission. We are praying to Allah to show mercy on our son and set him free soon," a sobbing Qurrathulain said.
Haneef was known to be a loner, not given to socialising, mingled with a few, did namaz five times a day, married an engineering graduate and is now a father of a week-old baby girl.
The eldest son of a schoolteacher, Haneef did his schooling at Mudigere in Chikmagalur district, about 250 km from here, and shifted to Bangalore a decade ago for studying medicine.
In a related development, the city police have began discreet inquiries into the antecedents of Haneef and Sabeel by interrogating their neighbours, relatives and old classmates.
Qurrathulain and Sumayya told IANS earlier they were desperately waiting to hear from Haneef or from the Indian officials either in Australia or Delhi on the latest development in the case.
"All the information we have is only from media," they said, adding there was a call to Firdous from the Indian high commission in Canberra, to find out whether she was Haneef's wife.
The last call from Haneef was to his brother Shoaib late Monday saying he would be home Tuesday night to see his baby as well as that of his sister Sumayya who also recently gave birth to a child.
Senior police officials in the intelligence wing said they could not comment on the possibility of Haneef having links with terror groups on the basis of the information they have gathered so far.
"We are waiting for details of the interrogation Haneef is undergoing in Australia to further probe the matter here," they said.