Mumbai: Friends of Zulfiqar Ahmad Khan, who went missing three months ago in Kenya, believe he is still ‘alive’, directly brushing out the sprouting rumours which say he has been ‘killed’ by a group based in Kenya.
“The Kenyan media reportage has been largely unverified with no regard to the facts of the case or sentiments of the families affected,” says a close aide of Zulfi in a note to this newspaper on Wednesday.
Zulfi, 48, an Indian national and a resident of Mumbai worked as a senior executive at Star and Balaji media houses. He went missing in Kenya on July 21 where he had gone on a vacation trip.
FPJ on October 22 reported on how the family and friends of Zulfi denied all the speculation that was going on about him which stated that he had been ‘killed’ by the now-disbanded Special Service Unit (SSU), a group allegedly accused of extrajudicial killings.
Dennis Itumbi, an apparent close aide of Kenyan President William Ruto publicly acknowledged that Zulfi, and his friend Mohamed Zaid Sami Kidwai, were killed by the SSU, a DCI Unit that used to “kidnap, assault, maim and kill innocent people”, Itumbi said via Facebook.
Followed by this, on Monday, October 24, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said that the specific circumstances surrounding the abduction and subsequent lack of information were very disturbing.
MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said, “We have been in regular touch with the Kenyan government to locate the whereabouts of the two missing Indian nationals. Our High Commissioner in Nairobi, Ms. Namgya Khampa, today called on President William Samoei Ruto to convey our deep concern and request the expediting of the investigations into the matter.”
Zulfi's friends react
Zulfi’s friend, reacting to this series of events said, “This Facebook post by Mr. Itumbi and other social media posts on Twitter by Kenyan influencers are speculative and thus misleading. The information is not supported with evidence and they seem to have built their own narrative. Most media reports are based on Mr. Dennis Itumbi’s Facebook and Twitter posts.”
Zulfi’s friends and family are yet to believe in ‘speculations’ and will wait for the authentic report from the official authorities, they said.
One of them added saying, “The statement mentions that the case is under ‘active investigation’ at this moment. There is no conclusive finding that Zulfi is no more. There is no evidence claimed or produced by Kenyan authorities that indicates that Zulfi is no more.”
They are requesting Prime Minister Narendra Modi to “form an investigation team” and immediately launch an investigation in Kenya with the help of the Kenyan Government to find Zulfi and bring him back home.
Zulfi’s aide concluded by saying, “We the friends of Zulfi feel Zulfi is Alive”
Ektaa Kapoor urges government to probe
Zulfi who worked for Ektaa Kapoor in the past has took to her Instagram and posted, "Our ex coo of Balaji Telefilms has disappeared from Nairobi almost theee months ago I request Ministry of External Affairs and Kenya Red Cross to kindly look into this."
