The curious case of Dr Chishti

Dr Mohammad Khalil Chishti has seen his children grow up only in photographs. In the nineteen years that Chishti, a microbiologist from Pakistan, has spent in India, he has missed out on all family milestones. He has missed the birthdays of his children—five daughters and a son—he has missed the weddings of his two daughters and he has missed the birth of his grandchildren.

When his daughter Amna got married in 2007, he so badly wanted to be a part of the celebrations that he later got his photograph superimposed on her wedding photograph. That photograph is the first thing he turns to every morning, a picture that reminds him of the life he left behind so many years ago.

The second among three siblings, Chishti was born in Ajmer and later went to study in Karachi in 1946. A year later, Partition happened and Chishti stayed back, becoming a Pakistani citizen. While the eldest brother also moved to Pakistan, the youngest, Zameel, stayed back in India with their mother.

Meanwhile, Chishti went on to teach at Karachi College and earned a doctorate for his research in microbiology from Edinburgh University. He later moved to Saudi Arabia, where he was appointed director of the Al Riyadh International Airport that was under construction. During his stint in Saudi Arabia, he also headed the Haj Epidemiological Studies Centre.

While in Riyadh, he thought he would help his folks in India get jobs in Saudi. "Many from the family went to Saudi on his invitation and got jobs and a better life there. But later, there was some change in the government's policy and many of them had to come back," says his nephew Yaseer Chishti.

Idris Chishti, a relative of Chishti's whom he had helped get a job in Riyadh, was among those who lost their jobs. And Idris held Chishti responsible. The shadow of Riyadh followed Chishti to Ajmer when he came calling on his ailing mother in 1992, who lived here with his brother Zameel. It was during that trip that he was accused of murdering Idris.

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