Bhagat claimed Zubair’s association with terrorism was old. ‘‘His name first came up in 2001 when we killed three LeT militants in Lucknow. We are checking the records now. Zubair and Waliullah were classmates at Deoband over 15 years back. Both had been arranging for the training of their recruits in Pakistan as well,’’ said Bhagat.

Zubair’s younger brother Haroon said that Waliullah used to come to Tanda to meet Zubair. ‘‘Zubair told me that Waliullah was seeking donations for his madarsa in Phoolpur. We never suspected anything else,’’ he said.

Bhagat said the three terrorists who landed in Phoolpur in early March were also introduced to Waliullah by Zubair after which Waliullah helped them carry out the plan. ‘‘It became clear to us that Zubair was the main mind behind the blasts. However, on April 5, when we raided his village, Zubair was gone,’’ said SSP Bhagat.

Zubair’s father Mohd Yousuf, however, said that his son had left for Badaut near Baghpat town on the night of April 4 along with his family for some work but later disappeared after abandoning his wife and children there.

“We searched for him everywhere. Since then, police has been banging on our doors each day,’’ said Yousuf.

The neighbours are shocked. ‘‘Zubair was a nice man, used to stay quiet most of the time as far as we know. After completing his education at Deoband, he had gone to Jaipur to teach at a madarsa there for a year,’’ said Ishaq Abad, a neighbour.

... contd.