Posters in Mumbai seek information on Yasin Bhatkal
The Ahmed Siddibapa that Zareena Kola, a teacher in Bhatkal, remembers, rooted for India in cricket matches. She is among those in this coastal town of Karnataka struggling to reconcile what she remembers of young Ahmed with Yasin Bhatkal, the alleged co-founder of terror group Indian Mujahideen, arrested this week.
Ms Kola taught Ahmed in school. "He was a patriotic child. He regularly participated in Independence Day functions and was an ardent India supporter during cricket matches. It is difficult to imagine that he did something like this," said Ms Kola.
Yasin Bhatkal, believed to be in his 30s, is considered to be one of India's 12-most-wanted men. He is accused of masterminding and executing several deadly bomb blasts all over the country in recent years.
In the Siddibapa home in Bhatkal, his family is clinging to the hope that Yasin Bhatkal, now in the custody of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) is not the young man who disappeared seven years ago from Dubai where he had gone to set up a business.
"He was a very nice boy when he was here," says his father, Zarar Siddibapa.
Ever since the news of Yasin Bhatkal's arrest broke, the Siddibapas have kept indoors, the mossy walls of their house giving away very little of what is happening inside. On Friday, though, the family came out briefly to visit a nearby mosque.
Samad Siddibapa, Ahmed's younger brother, who bears a striking resemblance to him and was arrested in 2010 in a case of mistaken identity, says, "My life has been ruined forever after the arrest. Wherever I go I am a suspect. Now I just want to start a business on my own and move on with my life."
Bhatkal was found along the border with Nepal with another alleged Mujahideen member named Asadullah Akhtar on Wednesday night.