145;My son cannot make a bomb146;

His mother lies on a small bed in the verandah of her house D5/130, Sangam Vihar. Her eyes are moist and she is waiting for her son to come back home.

His mother lies on a small bed in the verandah of her house D5/130, Sangam Vihar. Her eyes are moist and she is waiting for her son to come back home. 8220;I know my son is innocent. I know he cannot make a bomb,8221; says Wakila.

Wakila is the mother of Md. Shakil, the man who had made bombs for the blasts that shook the Capital on September 13. 8220;I want to know why Allah has done this to our family,8221; says Wakila as she looks up at the sky.

8220;My brother could not kill an ant. How can he make a bomb? Because we are poor and we are Muslims we are easy prey,8221; adds Shakil8217;s sister Tabbassum.

Both Shakil8217;s sister Tabbassum and Shabana say their brother was very reserved. 8220;He would help ammi in household work before going to office and would never be late from college. He did not have the habit of loitering around after college. He loved to spend time with family,8221; said his elder sister Shabana. Both Shabana and Tabbassum want people to know their brother is innocent.

Their house has not been swept for the past two days and the family has not had a proper meal. The used utensils lie in one corner of the verandah and the clothes are waiting to be washed.

8220;How can the house function properly when one member of the family is behind bars? We have not had a proper meal for the past two days,8221; adds Shakil8217;s younger brother Farooq. Farooq is worried because his father has had a high blood for the last two days and his mother who has undergone two heart surgeries is facing some complications.

Even his neighbours feel Shakil is innocent. 8220;He seemed to be a decent boy. We never saw him arguing with anyone,8221; said a neighbour.

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8220;Once Shakil had thrown his garbage in front of our lane. I just told him not to do so. He apologised and never did the same,8221; said another neighbour. 8220;He was a decent boy,8221; adds the neighbour.

The family owns two houses in the colony and the nighbours do not seem to know what exactly is going on. 8220;Shakil8217;s father works in a printing press. And the sons are studying. And they have two houses,8221; said another neighbour. 8220;Nobody knows what is going inside the house,8221; adds the neighbour.

The family worried about the bad name that it has earned over the past few days. 8220;We have our in-laws. There are going to be so many questions when we go back to our homes,8221; said Shabana.

8220;We are a middle-class family. We don8217;t know what is going to happen to our brother. But for a middle class family like ours, the family reputation once gone, is gone forever,8221; she said.