Daijiworld Media Network - Bhatkal

Bhatkal, Jul 20: Terrorist group Ansar ul-Tauhid ul-Hind on Friday July 18 announced on its Twitter page that Anwar Beli, alias Anwar Bhatkal from here, had been 'martyred' in Afghanistan. The announcement was accompanied by a photograph of Anwar, paying a homage to him.

However, Anwar's parents, though they have identified the photograph, have denied any knowledge of his death, according to a report by The Indian Express.

Anwar Beli (38), was shown in the photograph armed with a gun and wearing a tradition headgear. His parents said that though the picture was of their son, the attire was not his, and expressed suspicions that the picture was morphed.

"The face in the photographs I have seen is that of my son but the attire he is wearing is not his. It is an edited photograph with his face. We don’t know where he is at present," Anwar's father Mohammed Yusuf Beli (65) was quoted in the report.

Yusuf lives in Bhatkal with his wife and four other children. Anwar, the eldest among four brothers and a sister, was working in Dubai as a taxi driver, and until about a year ago, was in constant touch with his family in Bhatkal. As per their relatives, Anwar disappeared from Dubai a year ago, and the family is unaware of his whereabouts now. Before getting a job in Dubai, Anwar had been working in Kuwait, and prior to that, earning a livelihood in Bhatkal by driving auto rickshaws and mini trucks.

The parents refuse to believe that their son might have died in Afghanistan, and say they have received no intimation about his death. "We have no information about his death. As far as we know, he is still working in Dubai. He could not have died. The message must be a prank," said Beli, as quoted in the report.

The report in The Indian Express also states that not all was well with Anwar and his father. Anwar had married a woman of his choice in Dubai three years ago, against his father's wishes, which soured their relationship.

"We did not know about his involvement in any illegal activities until a couple of months ago when the NIA came here and said he was wanted in a terrorism case. Notices were issued proclaiming him as an absconder at that time," Beli was quoted in the report.

If indeed Anwar has been killed in Afghanistan as claimed by Ansar ul-Tauhid, it would mark the first fatality among one of several Indians known to be training with insurgents in Afghanistan, stated the report in The Indian Express. The report also stated that as per police sources, Anwar was a distant relative of Indian Mujahideen co-founder Riyaz Bhatkal.