Sazia says her husband was scared of the police and that was why he was on the run. “I can assure you he is innocent. He was with me during the Jaipur and Ahmedabad blasts, so there is no question of his involvement,” she says. “They picked him on Saturday and they have not yet declared his arrest. His life is in danger,” she says.

A police source said that Imran and Usman were known to be SIMI workers. “They had attended its meetings. They have been taken for questioning and their role in the bomb blasts is being examined. At this moment, I cannot say anything about their role in the blasts. It is a serious issue that requires deep investigation,” said the source.

According to sources, Imran and Usman have been taken to Ahmedabad to be grilled by the Ahmedabad City Detection of Crime Branch (DCB) which is investigating the blasts case.

Usman used to work in his father’s shop in Wadi selling incense sticks while Imran, the sole breadwinner and the only child of his parents, used to sell clothes from his handcart. His father Ibrahim, who underwent a bypass surgery recently, is too weak to work.

Sitting in their one-room rented house at Wadi, Ibrahim says, “I have no idea what has happened to my son or where he is. The police asked him to come to Panigate last Thursday and since then I have not heard from him. The police say he is being questioned and will be released soon. Why can’t they let him talk to his family?”