Ruheda Usmani (in burqa) waits with her son to receive her husband Faiyaz Usmani’s body outside a hospital in Mumbai on Sunday.

Faiyaz Usmani, brother of Indian Mujahideen operative Afzal, who is currently in jail in connection with the Ahmedabad blasts, died early Sunday just hours after the crime branch had picked him up for questioning.
While doctors said that he died of hypertension, his family has alleged foul play. The police has ordered a Criminal Investigation Department inquiry in the incident.
Usmani, 42, a resident of Govandi, who ran a small general store, was picked up by Unit 6 officers of the crime branch for questioning at around 3 pm on Saturday.
“He had just come from the shop and was having lunch when the officers roughed him up and took him away. We were told he would just be interrogated. He was called for questioning in the past too, so we expected him to return after some time. But later the police informed us that he had vomited during questioning and was taken to a hospital,” said Usmani’s wife Ruheda.
Deputy commissioner of police and Mumbai police spokesperson Nisar Tamboli said: “We had called him for some clarifications as his brother was involved in the 2008 Ahmedabad blasts. Within 20 minutes at the crime branch unit, he started feeling uneasy and said he was suffering from hypertension, for which he did not take any medicine. We then took him to Sion Hospital, where he died at 1 am on Sunday.”
A crime branch source said when Usmani first complained that he was feeling unwell, he was taken to Shatabdi Hospital in Ghatkopar. “At around 7 pm, we shifted him to Sion Hospital. The doctor who was treating him for hypertension was also called, and he said he had not taken his medicines for the last three to four days,” he said.
An inquiry has now been initiated into the incident. “A CID inquiry has been ordered into the death of Usmani by the DGP. The state CID will look into various angles that resulted in his death,” said Mr Tamboli.
Azeem Usmani, the victim’s son, alleged: “My father was picked up for questioning and pressured during interrogation. They are to blame for his death.”
Dr Ryan Kumar, a doctor at the hospital, said: “Usmani died due to brain haemorrhage. This condition usually occurs when a person is exposed to some kind of shock.”
His wife also said the family wanted the post-mortem to be conducted at J.J. Hospital and not Sion Hospital. “We do not know whether the police is covering up anything. We want a fair inquiry, and want the autopsy to be conducted at J.J. Hospital,” she said.
Abu Asim Azmi, MLA, who also visited Sion Hospital, said the inquiry should be conducted by a magistrate. “A magistrate should conduct the inquiry, and not the CID. There were no summons issued to Usmani. The fact that a normal man died suddenly after being picked up needs to be probed thoroughly,” Mr Azmi said.
Sandhya Kamat, dean of Sion Hospital, said: “He was unconscious when he was brought to the hospital and was in a bad condition. He was not breathing properly. The CT scan showed brain haemorrhage. He was suffering from high blood pressure.”
Usmani is survived by his wife, mother, five sons and a daughter. “They were three brothers in all. Besides Afzal and Usmani, the third brother works as a zari worker in Saudi Arabia. His father passed away sometime back and his mother will be coming from Mau village in Uttar Pradesh,” said Dr Bashar Usmani, his neighbour.
Police sources told this newspaper that Usmani was picked up to be interrogated about what he had last discussed with his bother Afzal when he had gone to visit him in jail. Sources also said the police could have used Usmani to get details from Afzal regarding the Mumbai blasts.
“Usmani used to meet Afzal in jail regularly. We wanted to ask him whether Afzal had said anything related to the Mumbai blasts during his last visit,” an officer said. Another source said the police wanted to use Usmani to get details from Afzal by tutoring him to ask specific questions of his brother at his next meeting.
n ANOTHER CUSTODY DEATH: Khwaja Yunus, a 26-year-old engineer accused of involvement in the 2002 Ghatkopar bus blast, had died while in police custody. The police later claimed that on January 6, 2003, Yunus fled from custody while being taken to Ahmednagar for investigation. He was never traced thereafter, and his relatives and co-accused alleged he had died in police custody due to torture and that his body was later disposed off. The case was handed over to the CID following the allegations.