Hyderabad, May 5 (IANS) An engineering student from Hyderabad, who joined the terror outfit Islamic State (IS), has died fighting in Syria, police sources said.
Mohammed Atif Waseem had fled to Syria from London where he was doing a Master’s degree in engineering.
The 28-year-old died about two weeks ago, according to information received by his family here.
The family, which hails from Manchriyal in Adilabad district and settled here, received an email in Arabic purportedly from the IS on April 24, informing them about Waseem’s death in fighting.
The shocked family, which stays in Shastripuram colony, informed the police about the mail two days ago, the sources said.
Waseem was engaged to a Hyderabadi girl doing Bachelor of Dental Surgery. He had even telephoned her before leaving for Syria in March this year to convey his decision to join the IS.
He apologized to her and advised her to look for another life partner. He had earlier told his parents about his decision.
However, fearing social stigma, neither Waseem’s parents nor his fiancee informed the police.
Police believe that a youth from Karimnagar district was also accompanying Waseem to Syria. Intelligence agencies are trying to gather information about the youth.
Police were questioning some friends of Waseem and looking into his activity over social media to know about those who were in touch with him.
Waseem, who studied in a convent school in Manchiryal, studied engineering in a college in Hyderabad. He left for London last year to do Masters. There he was influenced by the IS ideology.
This is the first case of a youth from Hyderabad being killed while fighting for the IS in Syria.
In January, a techie from the city was arrested at Hyderabad airport while on his way to Syria via Dubai to join the IS.
Police said 32-year-old Salman Mohiuddin, who had returned from the US, was in touch with a British woman in Dubai and they planned to join the terror group.
Police on October 29 last year detained a former employee of Google on suspicion that he was traveling to Saudi Arabia to go to Iraq to join the IS.