Every year since his son had left home in 2001 on the day of Eid, he sits near the telephone, waiting for him to call. And when the calls come he and his wife talk for over an hour. This year too, he waited. But no call came.

But Ishaq Ali Khan, father of Amir Reza Khan who has been accused in several cases of terror attacks in India, including the attack on American Center in 2002, has not lost hope.

“I am sure he will call on Bakr-Eid,” 62-year old Ishaq, who runs a business in building materials, told The Indian Express, sitting in his Beniapukur home in central Kolkata.

Apart from his alleged involvement in the American Center attack, Amir has also been accused of being involved in the abduction of Kolkata shoe merchant Partha Roy Burman in 2001. He was one of the seven who had been served with a death sentence in the American Center attack case. And it’s he and Hasan Imam who still elude the police.

Only last week Mohammed Sadiq alias Sadaqat, who shot dead six cops in the American Center attack, was caught by the Mumbai police.

Amir, according to the police, is the head of the Indian Mujahideen, suspected to be behind the recent serial blasts across the country.

Ishaq says he gets scared whenever a blast takes place.

“Every time a blast takes place his name crops up. When the Assam blasts took place, I got scared thinking that his name would come up. He is touted as the head of Indian Mujahideen but let me tell you, he never cared even for his mohallah. He was quite an introvert. How can a person like him head an all-Indian organisation?” he asked.

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