Balrampur (Uttar Pradesh), Aug 23 (IANS) Kafeel Ahmed, the father of the alleged ISIS operative Abdul Yusuf Khan, who was arrested in Delhi, has said he knew his son as a ‘very good person’ and he could have never imagined that his son would take to terrorism.
Ahmad said that his son was polite and never fought with anyone.
“I regret he was involved in such activities. I wish he could be forgiven for once, if possible, but his act is wrong. Had I known about his activities, I would have asked him to leave us,” he said in an interview to a channel.
Khan, 36, from the Badhiyaa Bhaisaahi village in Balrampur district was arrested from central Delhi’s Ridge Road area, late on Friday night following a brief exchange of fire with police, according to officials.
Two ‘fully ready’ IEDs were recovered from him and he planned to carry out a ‘lone wolf’ strike at a heavy footfall area in the national capital, the officials said.
Ahmed said his son had left home on Friday and after that, his whereabouts were not known.
“On Saturday, we learnt that he has been arrested in Delhi,” he said.
Asked about Khan collecting explosive material and testing bombs in a graveyard, the father said, “I have not heard anything about explosive material. If I had any idea that he was collecting explosive material, I would not have allowed my son to stay in my house.”
“It was only after the police came and found the material that I realised what it is,” he said.
The alleged ISIS operative Abdul Yusuf Khan has been booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. He was remanded to eight days in police custody and taken to different places in Uttar Pradesh, including Balrampur, for further investigation, the officials said.
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