HYDERABAD: At least two more from Telangana, including a Hyderabad resident who was missing since the attack, was confirmed to have passed away in the horrific terror attack on two mosques in New Zealand perpetrated by a white supremacist. Tolichowki resident Faraz Ahsan succumbed to his injuries in the hospital, confirmed his family members.
Speaking to TNIE, Faraz’s brother Kashif Ahsan said, “We just received word from his wife 20 minutes ago that he has passed away.” Faraz’s relatives are, as of now, in discussion over whether to visit New Zealand for retrieving his body. Earlier in the day, Faraz's wife Insha, when asked about the matter, had said that she had not received any confirmation on the matter then.
The other person who passed away is Karimnagar resident Imran Ahmed Khan, who was like the others, attending Friday prayers at Masjid Al Noor in Christchurch when the Brenton Tarrant opened fire inside the mosque. His uncle Manzoor Ahmed Khan, who owns a marriage hall in Karimnagar, has reportedly left for New Zealand, said a family member.
A photo, reportedly of Khan, is doing rounds on social media, showing a man in a black T-shirt and trousers, slumped unconscious against a man wearing a grey mashroo talking on the phone. Meanwhile, Amberpet resident Ahmed Iqbal Jehangir who was shot in the chest in the shootout, underwent a second surgery on Saturday.
“He is stable. They have removed the bullet that was lodged in the chest. This surgery is for getting out the one lodged in the collarbone,” his brother Khursheed Jehangir told TNIE, adding that his visa for New Zealand has been approved.
On Friday, AIMIM president had appealed to Minister for External Affairs Sushma Swaraj and TRS working president KT Rama Rao to expedite Khursheed’s visa. Another Telangana man, Kodad resident Mohammed Abdul Aleem, who is also the treasurer of one of the two mosques which was attacked, is safe, said an official of the New Zealand chapter of the Telangana Jagruthi, a state-based NGO headed by Nizamabad MP K Kavitha.