Happy With The Jihadi Work With ISIS, Kalyan Youth Doesn't Want To Return To India!

Fahad Shaikh, one of the four Kalyan youths who ran away and joined the Islamic State of Iraq & Syria (ISIS), has got in touch with his family, but rebuffed calls to return, saying "I am happy with my jihadi work, I won't come back to India". Shaikh, who had been incommunicado since leaving home last year, got in touch about a month ago and has since been calling his family and some friends frequently on phone or Skype and other VoIP platforms, said sources familiar with the case of the four youths, all in their twenties.

He has confirmed that Saheem Tanki, one of the three youths who went with him, is dead. He reportedly sent a photograph of Tanki at the location where he died to his family.

Reuters

NIA sleuths managed to contact Shaikh on a phone number he had called from, and he told them he won't return as his community was not treated well here. He again claimed he was happy with jihad but refused to elaborate what he was doing in Raqqa, Syria.

Areeb Majeed, another youth in the group from educated, established backgrounds, was brought back to India last November by the NIA and is in custody.

TOI

Shaikh had a mechanical engineering degree from Kalsekar College in Panvel, where Majeed and the last of the four, Aman Tandel, were students. Tanki was an HSC dropout. Shaikh and Majeed's fathers are doctors, Tandel's father works in a reputed company in Mumbai and Tanki's dad is a businessman. The four left for Iraq with pilgrims in May last year and did not return. Later, it became clear that they had been indoctrinated and had joined the ISIS. News of Tanki's death first came recently as a message sent to his family from an unknown number. Shaikh has now confirmed the death.

During its probe, the NIA found that Majeed was the first to be radicalized over social networking sites and came in contact with Shaikh during a religious programme, where the latter loudly protested against playing Bollywood music. They became good friends and drew in Tandel and Tanki in plans to join ISIS.

The NIA, which has sought time to file a chargesheet in Majeed's case, has served notices to some people whom the youths contacted since leaving the country. They have been asked to come to their office to record their statement and become witnesses in the case.

(This article was originally published in The Times of India).