Haj stampede victim’s kin upset at not getting visa

NAVI MUMBAI:As one enters the second floor flat of the Haj stampede victim Saleem Shaikh (56) in Panvel, his ailing 80-year-old father, Yusuf Kamal, can be seen reclining on the divan in the living room, trying to comprehend the presence of a large number of relatives in the house. He has not been told about the death of his son (Saleem) at the stampede in Mina.
The victim’s mother, Sabira Yusuf (75), though, is aware of the demise but has composed herself to prepare for the last rite once the body is flown back to India. Amid the quiet mourning, Saleem Shaikh’s sons and daughters are upset at the tepid response from the Indian authorities and the Haj Committee in providing them with an emergency visa to fly to Saudi Arabia to see their father’s body and be with their mother, Rukhsana Shaikh (51), who is unharmed.
“Today (Saturday) I went to the Haj Committee office to request them for assistance in getting a visa. But I am disappointed by their response. I was told that since it is the weekend, it is difficult to go ahead with the formalities. I want to ask the ministry of external affairs why they are not helping us reach Haj to be with our mother,” said the deceased’s eldest son, Dr Javed Shaikh, who works at Wockhardt Hospital in Mumbai Central. He added that he is also trying to contact the officials of the Saudi Arabia consulate in the city to get some help for the visa processing. “Our mother has not seen our father’s body. We have only been told telephonically that he died in the stampede. We want to rush there to console her and do the formalities; but the Indian authorities have not done anything yet.”
The victim’s mother Sabira tod TOI: “Saleem was always a hardworking person. Before shifting to Panvel, we used to earlier live in Nagpada. He did well as a real estate property dealer, and had recently retired. He had longed to go on Haj.”
While Sabira had managed to go to Haj in 2007, she said her son and daughter-in-law got a chance to go for it only this year. Their travel agency was Welcome Tours. “On September 6 when we all had gone to the airport to see off abba (father) and mummy, they were both very happy and looking forward to Haj. His last words at the departure terminal were ‘chalo main ab jaata hoon' (now I shall go)’,” said a family member. Another relative, Azim Bhai, recalled: “I last spoke to Saleem over phone a few days before the stampede. He had assured me that he is safe and was carrying on with the pilgrimage with his wife. Now, we only want the Indian agencies to help his children with the visa procedure.”
haj-Graphic2 saleem-sheikh-kk--4col 26vs-Panvel Haj stampede