Two women from Hyderabad killed in Mina stampede

• Asif Yar Khan

·         Two women from the city were killed in the stampede at Mina in Saudi Arabia on Thursday.

·         While a victim, Shaik Bibijaan, 60, is from L. B. Nagar, another woman, Sabhath Tasleem, 52, is from Chandrayangutta.

·         A pall of gloom descended at the house of Shaik Bibijaan. Bibijaan along with three of her relatives left for the pilgrimage on September 2. “They were selected in the first attempt. She was very happy on getting selected,” Shaik, the victim’s nephew, said.

·         The family received the news of death in the tragedy through her husband Shaik Majid, 69, who along with his brother, Shaik Rauf, and sister-in-law Shaik Munie, went on the pilgrimage. “Around afternoon, we got the news of her death. My mother was rushed to a hospital by a team of paramedics after the tragedy. But she died while under treatment,” Shehnaz, daughter of Bibijaan, said.

·         Bibijaan is survived by three sons and a daughter. All the three sons stay in Saudi Arabia. “After completion of the pilgrimage, my mother planned to stay for a day at our brother’s place,” Shehnaz sobbed.

·         Earlier in the day, Majid had called up her daughter in the city and informed her that they had completed ‘tawaf’, a ritual during the Haj pilgrimage, and were heading to Mina. A total of 10 persons from five different families from the Mansoorabad area left for the pilgrimage. Locals said that it was the first time that so many people from the locality were selected. Locals described Bibijani, as soft spoken person. The other victim, Sabhath, left for the pilgrimage along with her husband, Mohd Ghouse, through a private tour operator on September 15. Their son, Mohd Irshad, who works as an engineer in Saudi Arabia, joined them during the pilgrimage. The family received a phone call from Mr. Ghouse in the evening informing about the death.