Mumbai: Family prepares for Istanbul club attack victim’s burial

Mumbai: A day after Abis Rizvi (48) was shot dead at an Istanbul nightclub by a lone gun man, his Bandra-based family and friends are still coming to terms with the loss and are trying to piece together details of his last hours.

Sources close to the family have said that Akhtar Rizvi reached Istanbul on Monday morning to take the mortal remains of Abis and bring them back to India for the final rites, which will be held on January 4 at Rehmatabad cemetery at Mazgaon. Sources also said that the Rizvi group of institutions would not remain shut for more than a day, as their slain patron would not want it to stop for any reason.

According to the source, the Rizvi family is yet to come to terms with the death of Abis and have requested privacy in their hour of grief. “Family members have been receiving calls from friends and well-wishers asking questions about the incident, but they are also unaware of the same,” said the source adding that Abis had left for Turkey on December 29 with a view to check out locations for his upcoming movie as well as usher in the New Year. “He may have gone to Reina club as it is known to be frequented by well-known personalities,” said the source.

Meanwhile, the ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack through an unverified Twitter handle and said, “In continuation of the blessed operations which ISIS carries out against Turkey, a soldier of the brave caliphate attacked one of the most popular nightclubs while Christians were celebrating their holiday.”