Barot146;s relatives play down link

In Gymkhana Ni Pol of Vadodara8217;s walled city area, residents got to know something was amiss when the Crime Branch came visiting. But they could not get any link between Barot and the neighbourhood.

At the end of Gymkhana Ni Pol stands a locked-up building, which collapsed during the rains. This is where Dhiren8217;s maternal grandfather Ramanbhai Ghadiyali reportedly lived. Dilip Kothari, former councillor who lives nearby, remembers the family which had four daughters8212;Dhiren8217;s mother Bharti, Bhanuben who emigrated to the US and two others in Vadodara.

According to reports, the younger Barot had converted to Islam in the UK and thereafter was involved with groups having terrorist links. He is perhaps the lone Gujarati to be convicted for international terrorist links.

8220;He is my brother, but I don8217;t want to comment about him. The last I saw him was when he had come for a visit as a seven-year-old. We don8217;t have much contact with the family,8221; said Jignasha, about her cousin who has been sentenced to life imprisonment by a London court.

In the Kunj Residence-cum-Plaza on Vadodara8217;s Rajmahal Road, amongst the list of owners is Manubhai who owns the C-1 bungalow. But neighbours and the caretaker admit the family was never much to be seen and that the house remains locked up except for occasional cleaning and visits by relatives.