24-yr-old who joined IS ‘killed in Raqqa’: Family unsure of death; he had called mother 5-7 times

The building where Fahad’s family stays. Deepak Joshi

FAHAD SHEIKH, the 24-year-old Kalyan resident who fled the country with three of his friends to join Islamic State in May 2014, is believed to have been killed in Raqqa. He had called up his mother five to seven times over the three years since he fled the country. On every call, his mother would implore him to return to the country and he would assure her that he was doing all right and will come back. When his mother saw a call on her mobile phone from a similar-looking Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) number, indicating the call was from Raqqa, she thought it was Fahad on the other side. However, the voice was not of her son. In fact, the unknown person on the other side told her that Fahad was no more.

Dr Tanvir Sheikh, Fahad’s father, said: “We do not know who the person on the other side was. There is no way we can confirm what the person on the other side was saying. My wife has been unwell ever since the phone call.”

He added: “No decision has been taken regarding any religious rituals that are conducted when someone from the family dies. We immediately informed the National Investigation Agency (NIA) about the call and are hoping that they could confirm or deny the information.”

Fahad’s parents live in Govindwadi area of Kalyan with three of their children. Two of their daughters moved out after marriage. On Wednesday, relatives had gathered at their residence. Dr Sheikh complained that he had been receiving several calls inquiring about the incident.

While the immediate family members may still not be sure, some relatives have a nagging fear that the call may just be true. A relative said: “It was a call from the same country that Fahad was in. The caller spoke in a similar accent. Also, for the past three months, things in Raqqa have gotten bad. We have a feeling that Fahad has been killed.” Another relative, Iftekhar Khan, who is Fahad’s uncle, said: “Fahad was quite attached to his mother and would call her every once in a while. However, if it was a five-minute call, nearly two minutes would go in his mother crying as she would keep breaking down talking to him. She would ask him to return home.”

Khan added: “He would keep reassuring her that he was doing well and that he would return soon.” After the a call was received on Tuesday night, the local Bazarpeth police station recorded the statements of the family members of Fahad. Khan added that apart from Fahad, there are five other children in the family, including a 10-year-old son and four daughters, two of whom are married.

Fahad was one in a four-member cell of students from Thane who became the first Indians to join the Islamic State. He was the last surviving member of the cell, following the arrest of Areeb Majeed, and the killing of Sahim Tanki and Aman Naim Tandel. Fahad had left for Iraq in May 2014 as part of a pilgrimage group, travelling with Majeed, Tanki and Tandel. The four men then drove from Baghdad to Mosul, before disappearing into Islamic State-held territory. Fahad, an engineering student, had misled his parents into believing that he was leaving home to take up a job in Mumbai.