Cops clueless on death of ‘IS suspect’; father returns from Abu Dhabi

Kasaragod, Feb 28: A day after the startling message to his close relatives that Hafeezuddin, 26, a native of Padanna near Cheruvathur in Kasaragod district, who was among the 17 suspected to have joined the Islamic State, was killed in a drone strike, the police here are groping in the dark about the information.

The Kerala police are still ascertaining the veracity of the information even as a ‘WhatsApp’ message said to have been received by a relative of the ‘slain’ youth showed the photo of his body lying on the ground, Special Branch Deputy Superintendent of Police V.T. Assainar said.

On unconfirmed reports of messages to family members informing them of the death of a few missing persons who had joined the IS, Mr. Assainar said that the police were yet to verify their authenticity.

“The local police could not as yet ascertain the whereabouts of the persons who went missing under mysterious circumstances in June last year and are said to have joined the IS later,” Mr. Assainar said, adding that only Central agencies like the NIA could get any information, a stance maintained by Superintendent of Police K.G. Simon too.

It still could not be confirmed whether the 17 missing persons, including women and children, are in Iraq or Afghanistan. Meanwhile, a large number of people, including close relatives, were silently visiting Hafeezuddin’s residence to be with the bereaved family as the youth’s father Abdul Hakeem reached home from Abu Dhabi.

The message conveying the death of Hafeezudddin in a drone strike was purported to have been sent to his mother and a close relative on Sunday morning by Ashfak Majeed through ‘Telegram’ app from a gadget using his local SIM card number, triggering apprehension about the safety of the other missing persons from Padanna and nearby Thrikkaripur township in the district.