LAWRENCEBURG — Dr. Sheikh Rahman dismissed the first telephone call accusing him of conspiring with terrorists as a tasteless prank.

        But the second and third calls awakened his ire and concern.

        Then, a few patients called his office Wednesday asking to have their medical records transferred to other doctors.

        Dr. Rahman, who has lived and practiced here 25 years, knew he had a serious problem. He was the victim of mistaken identity.

        “People were calling my home saying, "You are helping the terrorists,'” Dr. Rahman said Friday.

        “They were saying I had been arrested by the FBI for some involvement with the recent terrorist attacks.

        “First I thought it was a prank,” he said. “But when it continued over the next two or three days I said I better take care of this because it is going to hurt my practice. So I called the police.”

        The accusations apparently began shortly after a few residents discovered that Dr. Rahman's name was similar to a name on an FBI watch list. Rumors abounded that Dr. Rahman, a native of Pakistan, had been arrested or detained.

        Dearborn County Sheriff David Wismann last week issued a press release, hoping to dispel the rumors.

        Sheriff Wismann said he spoke with FBI agents in Indianapolis and Cincinnati and found the rumors to be false.

        “The FBI has confirmed he is not that person,” Sheriff Wismann said. “Dr. Rahman is a U.S. citizen and has been a resident here for the past 25 years.”

        Dr. Rahman said he tries to explain to people that his name is a common one in his native land.

        “I told the callers that if I had been arrested I certainly wouldn't be in my office working and taking care of patients,” he said.

        The experience, Dr. Rahman said, has been more difficult on his wife and three children. His is the only family from Pakistan in the town of 4,685.

        Prior to last week, he said, he had never received any threats or problems because of his ethnicity.

        “I am a proud American citizen, and I have rights,” he said. “I will do whatever is necessary to protect those rights.”

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