Kalyan youth Shahim’s family contacts his friends to trace rumoured call

The family of Shahim Tanki, one of the four young men from Kalyan suspected to have joined the ISIS, is still trying to find out which of his friends called and delivered the report of his death.

The family of Shahim Tanki, one of the four young men from Kalyan suspected to have joined the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), is still trying to find out which of his friends called and delivered the report of his death.

Rumours of Tanki’s death started doing the rounds in Kalyan on Wednesday, with reports suggesting one of Tanki’s friends received a call, giving information that he had been killed.

On Thursday, the family called up more than 50 of Tanki’s friends and acquaintances, in the hope of finding out who had received the call.

“It’s difficult to believe that the news of his death, which should reach the family first, is received by a friend. Even then, we asked more than 50 people, including his other relatives and friends in Kalyan and other areas, about any messages or calls received by them. But no one could confirm the information,” said a relative of Tanki.

Meanwhile, agencies investigating the case said the rumours could not be traced to their source, and as such could not be believed.

It was Tanki who had called up the family of another suspected ISIS militant, Areeb Majeed, in August last year, to deliver the news that he had been killed. Tanki’s family now draws hope from the fact that the reports of Majeed’s death had later been found to be untrue.

“We believe that our son too is safe and will return, like Majeed did. We have been helping the investigating agencies with each and every detail, and if Shahim contacts any of the family members to speak about his return, we will surely take the help of agencies. However, we have not received any call from him in the past two months,” said a relative.

Meanwhile, parents of Fahad Shaikh and Aman Tandel, two other young men who went to ISIS with Tanki, also visited his residence on Thursday, after hearing the rumours. “All the family members sat together and decided not to believe in rumours until they receive any confirmation from the investigating agencies or any family member receives a call or message,” said another relative.

Shahim Tanki, a resident of Doodh Naka in Kalyan (West), is an HSC dropout, and was working at a call centre. Tanki, along with Areeb Majeed, Fahad Sheikh and Aman Tandel, all residents of Kalyan, left Mumbai in the last week of May in 2014, where they allegedly joined the ISIS.