Friday night's jubilation at the Bangalore residence of Mohammed Haneef gave way to despair on Saturday as news of the Australian police charging him trickled in, bringing to an abrupt halt preparations to welcome him home.

The third-floor apartment in the Daffodils' building, where Haneef's mother lives, had its doors shut and curtains drawn since early Saturday morning as media persons gathered to get a 'few bytes on the family's reaction' to the new development.

An otherwise polite security guard posted at the spot, who had been instructed not to allow anyone in, slowly turned belligerent as he signalled to everyone to move away and said no one from the Haneef family will talk to reporters who sent in requests for a 'sound byte.'

The family of Haneef, detained in Australia in connection with the terror plot in Britain, had heaved a sigh of relief on Friday on hearing that police had decided not to seek an extension of his dentention.

Tired of the umpteen media persons calling at their doorstep, the Haneefs on Saturday decided to switch off their calling bell and remained incommunicado till late afternoon, locked up inside their home.

An otherwise soft-spoken Sohaib, the younger brother of Haneef, grunted 'no comments' to all reporters trying to get a reaction over the phone.

Except for the chattering of school children passing by and the aroma of biryani wafting from a nearby marriage hall opposite the building, an eerie silence enveloped the building.

Every visitor entering the building raised suspicions among the media. But with a single gesture of his hand, the security guard signalled they were either visitors or residents of the building.

"Nothing newsy," he told some reporters trying to sniff out a story.

Asked whether the family would relent and speak, the guard raised his hands upwards as if to suggest only 'God knows.'     

The home of Haneef's father-in-law, with its crimson red stone walls, was similarly engulfed in silence as reporters stationed outside waited endlessly for his wife Firdous to speak to them.

The long wait yielded some results when Firdous, now living with her parents, decided to speak about her trauma, travails and her anger at the news of her husband being charged with supporting a terrorist organisation.

Firdous, who on Friday was in a mood 'to forgive and forget' and put the past behind, appeared dejected on Saturday.
The otherwise silent road facing house number 1233 on Saturday buzzed with the noise of whirring cameras and reporters updating their channels on the latest developments as onlookers, now familiar with such sights being beamed for nearly two weeks on TV channels, passed by, let out a familiar sigh.

"What a tragedy to befall a family like theirs," said one person, shaking his head in disbelief as he walked by.