Thane:
The father of a young man from Mumbai has denied reports that his son has joined the Sunni militant group ISIS in Iraq. A letter allegedly intercepted by intelligence agencies and accessed and published by newspapers, he says, is "completely false."
The Thane resident says his 21-year-old son, a college student, had gone missing on June 23. "He called on the 26th and said that he has reached Baghdad for pilgrimage and added that he wanted to look for a job in Iraq," the father said.
"I asked him to come back and he said he will return soon," he added.
Intelligence agencies say they are keeping a close watch on the activities of 18 young men from India who are believed to have joined the ISIS or Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant in Iraq. Police sources said that a letter intercepted by the Maharashtra's Anti-Terror Squad or ATS indicated that the young man has joined militants waging a war against the Iraq government.
The father, however, said, "The letter published is completely false...someone is trying to frame my child...I appeal to all agencies to get my son back."