It comes as a bit of a surprise that Faizal Sheikh, an alleged card-carrying member of the Lashkar-e-Toiba and the key man behind the 7/11 blasts, got involved in an intimate relationship with a Hindu bar girl.

Manisha Chavan, the 25-year-old beer bar dancer who was wooed by Faizal at his Bandra home, told The Indian Express that she knew him only as Sameer. For eighteen months, Faizal and she had a relationship.

“I met Sameer for the first time at the Sai Plaza bar in Ghatkopar in 2004. He was sipping a cold drink and slipped in a 50 rupee note as a tip to encourage me to talk to him,” said Manisha. From the time he first met her, Faizal fell for her.

They exchanged numbers and kept in touch. Soon Faizal sought her out and they began meeting frequently at ice cream parlours in the Chembur area. Chembur was where Manisha lived with her widowed mother and her five-year-old daughter in Sindhi Camp.

When Manisha switched jobs and began working at the Discovery Bar in Chembur, Faizal followed her there too. He became very upset when he saw her talking to other men. “He was very possessive about me and asked me not to speak to other men or go out with them. I told him clearly that it was my livelihood and I could not stop seeing other men. At that point of time, he started giving me Rs 5,000 every month so that I stop meeting other men,” said Manisha.

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