It is an honourable acquittal, says Faheem Ansari’s wife

Faheem Ansari's wife, Yasmin

Mateen Hafeez | TNN

Mumbai: Faheem Ansari’s acquittal in the 26/11 case has come as a breather for his grass widow. “On the morning of November 11, I met Ansari for the first time after his arrest (in the CRPF attack case). We met him in a Rampur jail. The next morning, when we were heading for Lucknow in the train, we learnt about the terror attack in Mumbai,’’ said Ansari’s 32-year-old wife, Yasmin.

Shortly before heading to meet him in prison on Tuesday afternoon, Yasmin was bracing herself to face another spell alone for he would be taken to Rampur in connection in the case involving the attack on the CRPF camp.

The 26/11 morning was not unusual for her. “I was meeting my husband on that morning after eight months of his arrest,’’ she said, adding that she met him for a second time when he was brought to Mumbai in connection with the terror attack. “Ansari told me that the policemen were saying he will not be arrested in the Mumbai terror attack case.’’

Yasmin rises to her husband’s defence as soon as it is pointed out that Judge Tahaliyani discharged Faheem Ansari merely for lack of evidence. “In my eyes, it is an honourable acquittal because even the evidence that was found on him was planted by the crime branch police. Why didn’t they accuse him of providing maps to the attackers at the first instance instead of waiting for the fourth or fifth remand?’’ asks Yasmin holding her dupatta over her mouth for the most part of the conversation given the presence of male journalists.

Apart from the odd grouse over policewomen unbraiding her hair for security reasons, Yasmin does not allege mistreatment by the authorities.

Yasmin, who lives in Goregaon, is currently staying with her parents at their BIT chawl home in Mominpura, a floor above the residence of Dr Tanveer Ansari who was implicated for his involvement in the 7/11 serial train blasts, in the building opposite that of Dr Jalees Ansari, another terror convict. “I must say my neighbours have been a strong source of support,’’ says Yasmin. “I would sometimes stitch clothes to supplement the family income.” However, the non-Muslim clientele who provided contracts to her husband’s envelope-making workshop shied away.

The Times of India, May 5, 2010