Family of second Kalyan boy who joined Islamic State gets call saying he's dead

Shaheen Tanki, one of three youths from Kalyan, Mumbai who joined the Islamic State in Iraq could be dead, say reports in Times of India . It should be noted that last August it was reported that Areeb Majeed, another Kalyan youth joined ISIS, had died, only to return home in November 2014. Majeed is now police custody.

According to the Times of India report, the boy hasn’t called his family since last November and one friend of the boys’ received “a message from an unknown number in Iraq that Tanki had died.” Interestingly, earlier it had been Tanki who called up Areeb’s family informing them of Areeb’s ‘death.’

One security officer told TOI, “Generally these boys call their family randomly once a month. However, Tanki hasn’t called for almost two months. Now this message has arrived that he is dead. We are trying to verify the information.” The verification, of course is hard, given the situation in Iraq.

However Tanki’s family is skeptical of these claims, given what had happened in Majeed’s case. A close relative told the paper, “No agency or person has spoken to us about Shaheen’s death and we will not believe the news till we see his body. We believe he is alive and he will come back just like Areeb. He too was proclaimed dead, only to come back to safety.”

Meanwhile Majeed’s lawyer asked for CCTV footage of his client’s cell, alleging he was being kept in solitary confinement, says another report in TOI.

Interestingly Majeed on his return had told NIA officials that he had been completely sidelined by the terror group as he had been asked to carry out menial tasks like cleaning toilets or providing water to those on the battlefield, instead of being pushed into the warzone.

He told the investigators that despite his immediate supervisor’s request, the ISIS cadres did not allow him to participate in the battle. His resolve to take part in the war weakened after a bullet injury he received was unattended for three days.

“Only after I begged them, I was taken to a hospital. I was treating myself, but the injury was worsening as there was no proper medication or food available in the camps,” Majeed told investigators.

“There was neither a holy war nor any of the preachings in the holy book were followed. ISIS fighters raped many a woman there,” Majeed said while responding to one of the questions, an NIA official was quoted by media as saying.

Admitting that he and his three friends from Kalyan underwent training on handling of sophisticated AK 47 and rocket launchers, Majeed claimed the Indians were considered to be physically weak.

Majeed was arrested on his return to Mumbai after spending nearly six months in Iraq. He was booked under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) on charges of conspiring to commit a terrorist act and being a member of a banned foreign terror outfit, and under the stringent Section 125 of the IPC for “waging war against the nation”.

Security agencies have concluded that so far it is only these three boys from Kalyan who joined ISIS from India. A fourth friend had plans to join them but then backed out.

With inputs from PTI