No Longer My Son: Indian Dad Won't Take Body of 'Traitor'

Police say son bombed a train, may be linked to ISIS
By Lilla Ross,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 8, 2017 1:56 PM CST
Family Won't Accept Body of Dead Son, a Terror Suspect
File photo of a candle floating on the Ganges.   (Getty/clara_cs)

A father in India wants nothing to do with a son accused of terrorism, even in death. "Look, someone who's a traitor cannot be our son," says the father of 23-year-old Mohammad Saifullah, who was killed Wednesday in a standoff with police in Lucknow. "We will not accept his body for last rites,” his father tells the Times of India. Police say Saifullah helped coordinate a train bombing Tuesday on the Bhopal-Ujjain line that seriously injured three people. His father says Saifullah, who had a degree in commerce, left home about three months ago after they fought because Saifullah didn't have a job. Saifullah reportedly called his father Monday and said he was off to Saudi Arabia to become a truck driver.

Three others have been arrested, though authorities have issued conflicting reports about the group's possible ties to ISIS. One official is quoted in the Indian Express as saying the bombers emailed a photo immediately afterward to a presumed handler in Syria, and thus, "We have proof of the involvement of ISIS." But the Hindustan Times reports that no financial links have been discovered, with a police officer saying that "they were mostly self-radicalized." Police found a cache of weapons, gold, passports, and a train timetable at the house where Saifullah was shot by police. They say his brother tried to talk him into surrendering by phone, to no avail. Meanwhile, the home minister in Madhya Pradesh called the train bombing a "trial blast" and says more attacks were being planned, per the Economic Times. (More terrorism stories.)

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