Fears about my son's elimination put to rest: Bhatkal's father

Has complete faith in the judicial process, says the father

The father of Indian Mujahideen co-founder Yasin Bhatkal today expressed relief over the arrest of his son, saying their fears about his 'elimination' in a fake encounter had been put to rest.

'We are extremely relieved that Ahmed Siddibapa (Yasin Bhatkal) has been arrested, according to media reports. We are relieved because the truth will come out and our fears that he would be eliminated in a fake encounter have been set to rest,' Zarar Siddibapa said in a statement to the media here.

He said his family has complete faith in the judicial process and his son should be punished if found guilty after a due process of law. 'The cardinal principle that every person is innocent until proven guilty should be followed,' he added.

Claiming that 'lots of falsehoods' were being spread in the media about his son, Zarar Siddibapa, who lives at Bhatkal in Uttara Kannada district, said he wished to put the basic facts in the public domain.

Yasin Bhaktal, also known as Mohd Zarar Ahmed Siddibapa, was arrested from the Indo-Nepal border in north Bihar, along with another IM leader Asadulla Akhtar after being on the run for over five years.

He is wanted in a string of terror attacks in Ahmedabad, Surat, Bangalore, Pune, Delhi and Hyderabad.

'My son was born in 1983. He studied at Bhatkal from Grade 1 to 10. He had never set foot in Pune to our knowledge until he disappeared from Dubai. He could not pass his tenth grade,' he said.

His son left for Dubai in November 2005 and 'disappeared' from Dubai in 2007, he said. 'Despite the best efforts of the family and the Dubai intelligence, Ahmed could not be traced. We request the media not to conduct a media trial and allow a free and fair trial,' he said.

The statement has also been signed by Yasin Bhatkal's uncle, Yakub Siddibapa.