06-07-2006, 10:33 PM
Mumbai edition of the HTimes, June 7/06
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Born in Kolhapur, shot in Kashmir-
A traitor, say parents; engineer's son is first state jehadi in valley
IRFAN ATTAR was a first-born, dedicated to God by a childless Kolhapur couple desperate to have a child. Eighteen years later on Monday, Attarâs anguished parents had to publicly denounce their eldest son a traitor to their country.
Attar, student of a madrassa in Bharuch, Gujarat, was shot dead in Kashmir a week ago, his body charred beyond recognition after a firefight with the army, the first Maharashtra Muslim to be so killed. Anti-terrorist squad officers from Mumbai are now in Kolhapur to investigate if there are others like him studying in Gujaratâs Islamic seminaries.
The police in Kolhapur â nestling in the Sahyadri Hills amid serene sugar-cane fields and chappals â are still waiting for confirmation that the teenage militant killed in Pulwama, Kashmir, was indeed Irfan, but to the Attars, the information they received and the circumstances were proof enough.
So in Kolhapurâs comfortable Tarabai locality, government engineer Mohiuddin Gajbharsaheb Attar and his wife Shabira unable to live with the stigma of terrorism, released a statement that read: âOn the basis of available facts and circumstances, we have concluded that the slain terrorist is our son Irfanâ¦We are Indians and are proud of our Indian identity. We condemn Irfanâs treacherous act and will continue to do so in the future.â How and when Irfan made the journey from Kolhapur to Kashmir, from small-town boy to jehadi, isnât something his parents have figured out. They believed he was studying at the Bharuch madrasa. It was only after a spokesman of the terror outfit Hijb-ul-Mujahideen announced that one of their martyred boys was from Kolhapur, did the Jammu and Kashmir police contact the Kolhapur police.
âWe sent our personnel to the madrassa in Gujarat where Irfan was supposed to be studying, but we couldnât find him,â Kolhapur district superintendent of police Dr Sukhwinder Singh told HT. He said it wasnât possible to identify Irfanâs charred body from the photos released by the Kashmir police.
Singh said DNA tests may be conducted. And the Attars home was raided anyway. The police found Urdu books and maps of India and Pakistan âwith some markingsâ.
Police sources said it was likely the teenager was indoctrinated by extremists in Gujarat. Since the Attars were childless for years after their marriage, they dedicated their first son (they have three children) to God on the advice of religious teachers.
Irfan was educated in religious seminaries in Kolhapurâs Kagal and Uchgaon towns. Police investigation has shown that his father would send his son Rs 10,000 every year.
The Attars told the police that Irfan visited them on Id every year; his last trip home was in November 2005. Singh refused to say if the Attars were under suspicion. <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Born in Kolhapur, shot in Kashmir-
A traitor, say parents; engineer's son is first state jehadi in valley
IRFAN ATTAR was a first-born, dedicated to God by a childless Kolhapur couple desperate to have a child. Eighteen years later on Monday, Attarâs anguished parents had to publicly denounce their eldest son a traitor to their country.
Attar, student of a madrassa in Bharuch, Gujarat, was shot dead in Kashmir a week ago, his body charred beyond recognition after a firefight with the army, the first Maharashtra Muslim to be so killed. Anti-terrorist squad officers from Mumbai are now in Kolhapur to investigate if there are others like him studying in Gujaratâs Islamic seminaries.
The police in Kolhapur â nestling in the Sahyadri Hills amid serene sugar-cane fields and chappals â are still waiting for confirmation that the teenage militant killed in Pulwama, Kashmir, was indeed Irfan, but to the Attars, the information they received and the circumstances were proof enough.
So in Kolhapurâs comfortable Tarabai locality, government engineer Mohiuddin Gajbharsaheb Attar and his wife Shabira unable to live with the stigma of terrorism, released a statement that read: âOn the basis of available facts and circumstances, we have concluded that the slain terrorist is our son Irfanâ¦We are Indians and are proud of our Indian identity. We condemn Irfanâs treacherous act and will continue to do so in the future.â How and when Irfan made the journey from Kolhapur to Kashmir, from small-town boy to jehadi, isnât something his parents have figured out. They believed he was studying at the Bharuch madrasa. It was only after a spokesman of the terror outfit Hijb-ul-Mujahideen announced that one of their martyred boys was from Kolhapur, did the Jammu and Kashmir police contact the Kolhapur police.
âWe sent our personnel to the madrassa in Gujarat where Irfan was supposed to be studying, but we couldnât find him,â Kolhapur district superintendent of police Dr Sukhwinder Singh told HT. He said it wasnât possible to identify Irfanâs charred body from the photos released by the Kashmir police.
Singh said DNA tests may be conducted. And the Attars home was raided anyway. The police found Urdu books and maps of India and Pakistan âwith some markingsâ.
Police sources said it was likely the teenager was indoctrinated by extremists in Gujarat. Since the Attars were childless for years after their marriage, they dedicated their first son (they have three children) to God on the advice of religious teachers.
Irfan was educated in religious seminaries in Kolhapurâs Kagal and Uchgaon towns. Police investigation has shown that his father would send his son Rs 10,000 every year.
The Attars told the police that Irfan visited them on Id every year; his last trip home was in November 2005. Singh refused to say if the Attars were under suspicion. <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->