The Imam of the Masjid-e-Khudadat, the mosque frequented by Dr Maqbool Ahmed, father of Sabeel Ahmed, one of the suspects in the failed terror plot in the United Kingdom, on Friday maintained that the Ahmeds were "god fearing and good people".

"How can parents be blamed if their grown up children stray from their path without their knowledge?" asked the Imam, reluctant to reveal his name.

"Has the guilt of Sabeel and Kafeel been really proven for the family to be hounded by the media?" he asked.

Maqbool Ahmed, Imam said, had been "mentally affected for the past four to five years". However, he used to offer namaz regularly and was "specially courteous and good to the poor, whom he always used to give Khairat (alms)".

Never once, he said, did Ahmed go without giving alms to the needy. "Even if he did not have money with him, he used to go home which is nearby, come back and give money to the poor".

The only thing that stood about Dr Maqbool Ahmed was he was reserved and never spoke much, Imam said.

He appealed to the media to not sensationalise the issue.

Similar sentiments were expressed by other shop owners who interacted closely with the family.

Mohammad Pasha, who is in his fifties and lives near the mosque, said "Whenever Dr Maqbool's sons used to come home they used to accompany him for namaz and were very courteous. I can't imagine they are into this. But you never know."

Kallesh Rao, the owner of a mutton shop in the neighbourhood, said, "Maqbool used to buy mutton from me regularly. Although a no-nonsense person, he was always calm and never picked up a quarrel."