London, Feb 15 (ANI): Mohammed Sidique Khan, the ringleader of the 7/7 bombing plot, who was working as a mentor in a primary school in Beeston, had reportedly tried to persuade a 11-yr-old pupil to convert to Islam on a number of occasions, by telling him that "people will pay for what has been done to Pakistan" and also made comments about the 9/11 terror attacks, the inquest into the bombings has heard.
The inquest was told that Khan, who taught at Hillside Primary School, was liked by parents, staff and pupils who stayed away from home, and used to describe him as "almost like a father".
"One pupil became quite close to him and Khan would take him around to his associates and try to interest him in the Muslim faith," The Telegraph quoted Hugo Keith, counsel for the inquest, as saying.
Acting Detective Inspector Pete Sparks, from the Metropolitan Police, said that the student was taken to the Iqra bookshop in Beeston, which Sidique Khan and others had used to sell Islamic literature, adding that "Khan had tried to persuade [the pupil] on numerous occasions to convert to Islam."
According to Gareth Paterson, representing some of the bereaved families, Sidique Khan was mentoring children with behavioural problems, the paper said.
Khan, who reportedly had no formal qualifications for the job, was recruited as a teacher in that school in July 1997. (ANI)
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