I don’t think he can do such a heinous crime,” said Abu Bakhr Ansari, 47, elder brother of Fahim Ansari who is accused of playing a role in the Mumbai terror attacks. Abu Bakhr had come to the court on Wednesday to catch a glimpse of his brother who was being chargesheeted in the case.

Sitting near the dock inside the court of Additional Chief Metropolitian Court M J Mirza with Fahim’s wife, Abu Bakhr waited for a glimpse of his burkha-clad brother who was surrounded by crime branch officials. Abu Bakr, who is now supporting Fahim’s wife and his six-year-old daughter, says, “I don’t understand how the police can arrest him for the Mumbai attacks on the basis of some rough maps of the Taj Hotel, Gateway of India and Trident-Oberoi hotels. Can the attacks be planned and executed on the basis of simple maps given by him?”

Abu Bakhr had met Fahim when he was in the custody of the STF at Rampur, where he was arrested early last year for attacking a CRPF centre. But, he hasn’t been able to meet Fahim after his arrest in the Mumbai attacks case.

Abu Bakhr said, “As of now we believe that he is innocent. We will hire the best lawyers and fight out the case in court and also appeal in higher courts.”

When asked about the impact of Fahim’s arrest on the family, he said, “Fahim is the youngest among nine of our siblings. We are six brothers and three sisters; all are well settled and going steady in their lives. I can’t understand where Fahim went wrong.”

However, when asked whether Fahim had gone to Pakistan for training, he said, “Woh toh sirf usi ko pata hai (only he knows about it) as he has not been staying with us for the past two years. He had left us in 2007, citing a reason that he was going out of Mumbai, with his friends. Since then, he hasn’t come home. We came to know of him only when he got arrested in Rampur and was brought to our house for identification purposes.

“We haven’t faced any problems in our community or neighbourhood owing to Fahim’s arrest. However, we have taken precautions by limiting our interactions in the society,” he said.