Ekta Kapoor's Balaji Telefilms's ex-COO missing in Kenya since July 21

MUMBAI: Zulfiqar Khan, a 48-year-old entertainment industry veteran from Mumbai and a former COO at Ekta Kapoor's Balaji Telefilms has been missing in Nairobi, Kenya, since July this year. In July, Khan, an avid traveller and explorer, went on a holiday to Kenya and was due to return on July 24. However, he dropped out of contact on July 21 and hasn’t been seen or heard from since.

As per IANS, Zulfiqar, Mohamed Zaid Sami Kidwai and their driver Nicodemus Mwania, a local, are said to have been abducted near the Ole Sereni area in mid-July and driven away in an unmarked car. Now, his family has appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to intervene into the matter and ensure their safe return.

"We want to make people aware of who Zulfi really is, question his disappearance, and plead with our Honourable Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi to intervene and ask the concerned Government of Kenya to start a search operation to get Zulfi back home safe!" the family said in a statement.

A preliminary report handed over to the Inspector General of Police revealed that the three men were last seen when they visited a nightclub in Westlands, Nairobi, on the night of July 23, The Standard reported.

"We don`t know if there is a serious search operation to find him. We don`t know if the Indian government has demanded an explanation from the Kenyan government about their missing citizen. We don't even know if our own high commission in Kenya is helping in any way," the family said.

According to local media reports, the two were in the country to join President William Ruto's election campaign Information and Communications Technology (ICT) team.

"The abduction could be a fallout of their contribution in the field of information and technology to Kenyan President William Ruto`s re-election campaign," The Star reported.

Khan's last online activity was a July 21 Instagram post - in which he shared photos and videos of his trip to Masai Mara National Park in Nairobi, Kenya.

He last worked as the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Balaji Telefilms. Prior to that, he was also the Managing Director of the OTT platform, HOOQ, and the Business Head and Chief Revenue Officer of Eros Now.