BANGALORE, JULY 6: How and when did two brothers go from being considered “good, decent boys” to terror suspects in the UK terror plot is the question teachers, friends and neighbours of Kafeel Ahmed, 28, and Sabeel Ahmed, 26, are asking in the light of Sabeel’s arrest and indications that his brother is the bomb-maker.

However, there are some who claim to have seen a religious side that was radical in the two brothers, especially in their late teens and early 20s. A teacher at the Aurobindo High School in Banashankari, where Kafeel studied from Std VIII to Std X in 1992-94, described him as “a quiet, above-average boy, who fit into the school quite easily despite coming from another country.” Kafeel had studied at the Indian Embassy School in Damman, Saudi Arabia, before his parents brought him to India as they wanted him to pursue higher studies here.

Kafeel went on to do a pre-university course at the National College, Basavangudi, completing the course in 1996, and finished his engineering course at a Davangere college in 2000. His engineering teachers described him as “studious and well-behaved.”

Worshippers at the Hazrat Tippu mosque, opposite the family’s house, say the first indication that the brothers may have taken to radicalism was in 2001, before Kafeel’s first trip to the UK.

“The mosque had been decorated for Id with lights. The sons of Dr Maqbool Ahmed objected to the lights saying it is un-Islamic,” said mosque secretary Samiullah. “We told them not to come around with such messages again. After that they stayed off.”

He said the two brothers, brought up in the strict Deoband way of life by their father, were also unhappy that the mosque authorities did not object to worshipping at dargahs. The brothers also reportedly joined the radical Tableeghi Jammat.

“Then the elder son went abroad. The younger son became a doctor and was helping his doctor parents run a nursing home in Bismillah Nagar. That was around two years ago,” said Samiullah. “Then Dr Maqbool began displaying signs of mental illness and they decided to sell the hospital. The younger son also went abroad.”

But most others saw them as normal, but deeply religious. “They were good boys, and lived quiet lives,” says Arif Khan, a grocer. “They can’t be involved in terrorism.”

In their brief interactions with neighbours and friends, the brothers would advise them to live strictly religious lives, eschewing smoking and even coffee or tea.

Officials at the Crescent School near the family’s house, where Kafeel organised a meeting to mark World Chechnya Day in 2006, on his return from the UK in late 2005, said the meeting was held under the aegis of the Jamait-i-Islami.

Sabeel, described by his mother Dr Zakia Ahmed as easy-going and cheerful, seemed to be apparently more popular. Friends affectionately called him “motey (fatso)” and ribbed him for his love of football.

On Friday, the Bangalore police, who questioned family members, said the Kafeel had refused to get married citing a “major project”, but the younger one had agreed to marry and even seen a prospective bride.

A lawyer for the family, B T Venkatesh, told the media that the police had carried out inquiries about the family in the light of the alleged terror links emerging against Kafeel and Sabeel in the UK.