Kafeel's family clueless about his last rites

A week after Kafeel Ahmed, the suspected Glaslow bomber, succumbed to his burn injuries, his family in Bangalore are clueless about where his body will be buried.  

Intelligence sources in Bangalore maintain that the body will be buried in the United Kingdom. But their UK counterparts are worried about law and order problems which may arise if the last rites are conducted there.

Meanwhile, Kafeel's family is still awaiting official confirmation about whether the person who succumbed to his injuries in a Glasgow hospital on August 3 is their son.  

A family member told rediff.com that Kafeel's mother Dr Zakia Ahmed wanted to travel to the UK to collect her son's body. But she decided to wait for a confirmation from the authorities.

According to sources, the UK authorities are planning a quiet burial. They fear that the burial site may end up becoming a memorial for other fundamentalists.

However, Zakia refuses to be deterred by these problems. She wants her family to live a normal life, as the Ahmeds have hardly stepped out since Kafeel's involvement in the foiled Glasgow attack came to light.

"Where do we look for confirmation? Neither the Indian High Commission nor the officials in Bangalore know anything," says one of Kafeel's family members.

According to reliable sources, no DNA tests have been conducted on the body so far. A post mortem is expected to be conducted by the end of this week. Once the identity of the deceased has been ascertained, an official communication will be given to the family members.

B T Venkatesh, the family's lawyer, says that they are waiting for an official word on the issue. "Nothing has been said till date, so any question about the future course of action doesn't arise," he added.