Chicago, Nov 24: Abbas Rana, the brother of the terror suspect Tahawwur Rana came to his defence claiming that the terror charges levelled against Tahawwur are false.

"To the best of my knowledge, these charges are false," the brother was quoted as saying in a Hill Times column by Jim Creskey titled 'Why The Hill Times supports its reporter,Abbas Rana', published on Monday, Nov 23.

Abbas Rana, who has been working with Ottawa-based newsweekly since 2002 described Rana as a 'man of integrity'.

"I know my brother. I love my brother. He is a man of integrity, he is honest, and he is a hard-working," Abbas said.

The author of the column, Creskey revealed that the charges against Tahawwur have had a 'devastating' effect on the Rana family.

Abbas Rana knew nothing more about the accusations facing his brother beyond what he has read in the media, the author writes.

Abbas, who is on leave for the past five weeks, is worried over the news about his brother's arrest reaching his 75-year-old father Wali Rana.

Canada-based Tahawwur was arrested by the US FBI along with American David Coleman Headley in Oct 2009. The alleged Lashkar-e-Toiba operatives have been charged with plotting terror attacks in India and Denmark.

OneIndia News