14:09, 8 September 2017

Chechen singer Zelimkhan Bakaev's disappearance involves law enforcers, his close relatives believe

Zelimkhan Bakaev. Screenshot of the video by the user Grozny live https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=72&v=VWsWRIfrg2E

Till present, the whereabouts of Zelimkhan Bakaev, a 26-year-old Chechen singer, who disappeared in Grozny on August 8, has not yet revealed. His relatives and friends believe that law enforcers may be involved in the Zelimkhan Bakaev's disappearance.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that the singer's friends suggested that he could be kidnapped, but some others associated his disappearance with a conflict in his family.

In 2012, Zelimkhan Bakaev became well-known for singing songs in the Chechen language. One of them, "Michakh hyo lela besam" (Where do you walk, love?), became a hit. In recent years, the singer lived and worked in Moscow.

"The complaints about his disappearance were filed to the police three weeks ago. They are allegedly engaged in a search for him, but nobody can say anything intelligible about the case," said one of the singer's relatives.

According to him, "the most believable version is that Zelimkhan Bakaev is being kept by local law enforcers."

"There are people who saw how soldiers captured him and took him away in a car. The police only pretend to be looking for him," believes a female friend of Zelimkhan Bakaev.

Earlier, Djambulat Umarov, Chechen Minister for National Policy, Press and Information, has stated that Zelimkhan Bakaev was not a terrorist and "law enforcers absolutely do not need him."

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.

Source: CK correspondent