Hard to believe Khokhon is no more, say family members

The family members of Khokhon Sikdar, one of the 39 Indians killed by the ISIS in Iraq, are finding it hard to believe that he will never return.

"We are in a state of shock. All these years, we were hoping that he was alive and would return one day. Today all our hopes were dashed," Subhas Biswas, the brother-in-law of Sikdar, told PTI.

He said a few months ago, officials from New Delhi had come to Sikdar's house in Tehatta in Nadia district to collect the blood samples of the family members for DNA testing.

Sikdar is survived by wife Namita, a five-year-old son and a teenage daughter.

His family has requested the government for financial help as they have lost their lone breadwinner.

"We hope that the government will help the family financially. Khokhon was the only earning member of the family," Biswas said.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj today said in the Rajya Sabha that all the 39 Indians who were abducted by ISIS terrorists in Iraq nearly three years back were killed and their bodies had been recovered.

Minister of State for External Affairs V K Singh will be flying to Iraq to bring the bodies back.