My son not a terrorist,hes been framed

It was a double blow to the Sheikh family living in Dahisar in Mumbai suburbs when the Anti-Terrorism Squad arrested their son Riyaz Ali...

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It was a double blow to the Sheikh family living in Dahisar in Mumbai suburbs when the Anti-Terrorism Squad arrested their son Riyaz Ali (25) and son-in-law Abdul Latif Shaikh Saturday night for allegedly plotting to attack ONGC facilities,a mall and a market complex in the city.

While Riyaz worked as a salesman at an apparel shop at Thakkar Mall in Borivali,one of the alleged targets,Latif sold television covers and plastic merchandise at Manish Market,not far from another alleged target,the Mangaldas Market.

My son is not a terrorist. He has been framed by someone for vendetta, said Riyazs mother Aziza,clutching his photo. Riyazs parents vehemently denied their son or son-in-law could have plotted an attack. They said Riyazs closest brush with the law was six months ago when the parents of a Gujarati girl he was in a relationship with complained to the police.

Riyaz was always polite and never one to get into any fights. For the past four years he was working at the mall and since the past year was in a relationship with a Gujarati Jain girl. Around six months back,the Malad police had summoned us after the girls parents complained. However,we were all let off after the girl gave a statement to the police that they were in a relationship, claimed Aziza.

ATS officials claimed that at least two of the targets given to Riyaz and Latif by their handlers had been picked due to the Gujarat connection Mangaldas Market in South Mumbai is a hub for Gujarati traders and Thakkar Mall is located next to predominantly Gujarati-speaking colonies. While Aziza is a vegetable vendor,her husband Abu Bakr Sheikh sells cutlery items on the road. Both their daughters are married,one of them to Latif. Riyazs younger brother Khurshid also works as a salesman at a shop.

At the home of Abdul Latif Shaikh in Bandras Behrampada slum,his wife Nusrat Bano was distraught. According to the family,Latif had been working in a shop at Manish Market for the past 10 years and earned Rs 200 as daily wage. He had recently told his family that his owners wanted to send him to Pakistan for some work and that he needed to get a passport made. His mother Alifa said he had only studied till Class IX. We never asked him why he wanted to go abroad. We always assumed it was for better prospects, she said.

A neighbour said the passport verification was completed last week. He did not have Rs 500 to give to the verification agent and asked me for money. And still,in the past few months,he arranged for home appliances for his family including a brand new fridge, he added.