Sabeel’s family taken away to undisclosed location

After their sustained questioning by a team of Bangalore City police, the mother and sister of Sabeel Ahmed, one of the suspects in the foiled terror plot in UK, left their residence in Banashankari in Bangalore to an undisclosed location escorted by their advocate.

After two rounds of questioning by a team of Bangalore police led by Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Ravi Kante Gowda on Thursday night and Friday afternoon, Sabeel Ahmed’s mother Zakia Ahmed and sister Sadia Kausar, clad in burkhas, went out of their residence yesterday, accompanied by their lawyer, even as hordes of media personnel hung around awaiting fresh developments in the Bangalore link to the terror plot.

Sabeel Ahmed’s father Maqbool Ahmed, who apparently suffers from dementia, was neither questioned nor taken away by the lawyer.

Meanwhile, a team of Bangalore Police, which had questioned Zakia Ahmed and Sadia Kausar for two hours on Thursday night, returned on Friday afternoon to resume the questioning.

Apart from trying to ascertain the veracity of reports that Kafeel Ahmed, the injured suspect who drove the vehicle that exploded in Glasgow, was Sabeel Ahmed’s elder brother, the police is understood to have gathered information on the communication between the two brothers and their family members through telephone and e-mails.

Though reports suggested that Kafeel Ahmed was Sabeel Ahmed’s brother, Commissioner of Bangalore City Police Neelam Achuta Rao refused to confirm the same.

Speaking about the inquiry, Rao told reporters that Zakia Ahmed had told the police that she had a son named Kafeel Ahmed also, who had left for UK, but was unclear about his activities overseas and his involvement with fundamentalist groups. She was also unable to confirm whether the photos splashed of the driver in the burning vehicle were that of Kafeel Ahmed.

However, a marble plaque outside the home of Zakia Ahmed and Maqbool Ahmed in Banashankari bears the names of not only Sabeel Ahmed and Sadia Kausar, but also Kafeel Ahmed.

Kafeel Ahmed, the elder brother of Sabeel Ahmed, had studied mechanical engineering at UBDT Engineering College in Davangere in Karnataka during 1996-2000. A bright student, Kafeel Ahmed had not only secured fifth rank in the final year Mechanical Engineering examination, but was admired by his classmates and teachers for his exceptional oratory.

After leaving for UK, Kafeel Ahmed was pursuing his doctorate degree at Anglia Polytechnic University at Cambridge.