Love converted him, he changed

Yesterday, the 30-year-old was among the four Lashkar-e-Toiba militants who were killed in a shootout with Gujarat police, who claimed they planned to assassinate Gujarat CM Narendra Modi.

During the last 24 hours, the Pune police have been working overtime to find out more about Javed and his family, and how he came to be associated with the Lashkar. Police Commissioner D.N. Jadhav is cautious with information, still, a rough sketch of Javed’s life is possible.

Javed was on his own in Pune ever since his parents left Pune for Kerala in the 80s. One hurdle he encountered after falling in love with a Muslim girl who lived on the outskirts of Pune, was acceptance by her family. So he embraced Islam and married her, but continued to hold his passport issued in Kochi in the name of Pranesh Kumar Gopinath Pillai.

In the early ’80s, Javed left Pune for Oman, and returned in the late ’80s. By then, he was accepted by his in-laws. Javed ran a shop dealing in garments and perfumes. About a week back, he left home with his family — police traced his wife and children to a relative’s house. His family members claim they neither know about his links with Lashkar-e-Toiba, nor about his whereabouts.