More than a year after Zulfiqar Ahmad Khan, ex-COO of Balaji Telefilms, went missing while on a holiday trip to Nairobi, Kenya, his family is still awaiting closure. Khan last spoke to his family on July 23, 2022, before disappearing. Last week the Delhi High Court issued a notice to the Ministry of External Affairs and Ministry of Home Affairs asking them to file a status report about Khan’s whereabouts by coordinating with the Kenyan authorities.
The petition was filed by Khan’s sister, Anis Fatima Zachariah, who alleged that her brother has been detained in Kenya. She added that she was not in a position to contact him, according to reports.
Zulfiqar's sister said that he went to Kenya on tourist visa
In her statement, she added that Khan had travelled to Kenya on a tourist visa on June 24, 2022. Reports from Kenya suggested that on July 22 (late at night), Khan and his friend, Mohammed Zaid Sami Kidwai (Indian), were “abducted” by some people in a taxi.
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On Sunday, a close aide of Khan said, “It has been exactly one year since we saw the last CCTV footage of Zulfi leaving the Nairobi Restaurant, waiting to board the car, and after that footage, no one seems to have a clue. There has been no solid response from the Indian government regarding the steps taken to find him, and no solid reply from the Kenyan government regarding the steps taken and the outcome of the arrests made during the investigation.”
“It looks like a dead end for some, but it’s hard to believe that someone as smart, suave, and articulate as Zulfi could find himself in a dire situation and couldn’t talk his way out. The lack of communication, clues, or remains leave us with a lot of doubt and suspicion around the investigation and the intent behind finding him.”
Khan's friend: Want govt to provie us closure
Another person close to Khan said, “As friends of Zulfi, it is difficult to accept that he will not come back to us, and once again we urge the Indian High Commission in Kenya and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Government of Kenya, to find him and provide us with closure.”
Khan was active on social media before July 21, 2022. His family and friends had back then made a petition at Change.org where they said, “We enjoyed watching his social media posts of breathtaking Masai Mara and all the amazing food he (Zulfi) was having. In his telephone conversation with friends, he said he was going to return on July 24 but instead planned to be back towards the year-end to witness the Great Migration across the Mara River. But after July 21, he was not active on social media and even on WhatsApp.”
The Delhi HC has asked the MEA to give updates on Khan by August.
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