PALAKKAD: Another missing person from the state has been reported killed in Syria. Shiby, 32, of Kanjikode was killed while fighting for the IS in the war-torn country. His relatives received a text messages on June 13 informing them of his death. It was promptly passed on to the police.
As it was the month of Ramzan, the family members did not inform the public. Shiby died of a bullet injury on the thigh, a source told Express. He had left for Nangarhar Province in Afghanistan to join an IS training centre. The police believe he would have later joined the IS forces in Syria as a fighter.
He left home on June 2, 2016, saying he was going to Oman to study religion. Though his visa was valid for only 27 days, he has not returned since. Last year, he had called his family and wished them on Ramzan. Even then he did not reveal his location. After he went missing, his relatives had met the then Superintendent of Police in Palakkad and reported the incident. They told the police he could either be in Iran or Afghanistan. A native of Pandikaad in Malappuram district, Shiby was staying with his father’s brother working in a private distillery in Kanjikode.
Relatives said he had known suspected IS recruit Bekson Vincent alias Yahya of Yakkara right from college. They studied together in Coimbatore. It was this acquaintance which radicalised him.According to Bekson’s father Vincent, his son left for Sri Lanka on May 15, 2016, and his sibling Bexton alias Eesa followed him on May 18. Subsequently, Shiby left on June 2. Vincent said it was Bexton who initially converted to Islam in Mumbai in the presence of controversial preacher Zakir Naik.