An Indian national and former senior executive at Star and Balaji media houses, Zulfiqar Ahmad Khan, 48, has been missing in Kenya since July 21 this year. While the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) is ‘keeping a close watch’ on the situation, the family and friends of Zulfi are clueless, worried, and confused about his disappearance.
As a way to expedite the search operation, they have made a petition at change.org to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to intervene with the government of Kenya and launch the operation to find Zulfi back home.
Subsequently, they are constantly raising alerts and alarms on social media requesting help from authorities in both India and Kenya. As to Zulfi’s friends, he had gone to Kenya as a tourist after which they along with his family stopped getting calls and messages from Zulfi.
Zulfi being a resident of Mumbai, this newspaper inquired with the Mumbai Police if they may have any role in the matter. On the condition of anonymity, a senior-level police officer said, “When someone leaves the country that person becomes an ‘immigrant’. So, the MEA will be dealing with the matter, along with the immigration unit.” He also added that Mumbai Police will cooperate in every possible way during the investigation if necessary.
As per the petition, Zulfi’s trip to Kenya was to explore and experience a new country. “We enjoyed watching his social media posts of breath-taking Masai Mara and all the amazing food he was having. In his telephone conversation with friends, he said he was going to returning on July 24 but 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,” says the petition.
It further states that Zulfi had spoken to some of his friends just days earlier (of his disappearance) and talked about wildlife at length. Zulfi even advised them to visit Kenya, which he described as a ‘lovely place’. As of now, according to MEA, the matter is with the High Court of Kenya while the Indian High Commission is in touch with the Kenyan authorities.
About Zulfi:
Zulfi started his media career with Star India. His last work was as COO of Balaji Telefilms, Managing Director of the OTT platform HOOQ, and Business Head and Chief Revenue Officer at Eros Now.
Click here for the petition.
