HYDERABAD: At least two 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 (31) succumbed to his injuries in the hospital, confirmed his family members. Speaking to Express, Faraz's brother Kashif Ahsan said, "We just received word from my sister-in-law 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 Isha Aziz, who has been distressed since she learnt that her husband was missing after getting caught in the attack, had said that she had not received any confirmation on the matter then.
Faraz was a father to a three-year-old daughter and a six-month-old son.
The other person who passed away is Karimnagar resident Mohammed Imran Khan, who was like the others, attending Friday prayers at Masjid Al Noor in Christchurch when Brenton Tarrant opened fire inside the mosque. According to the ICRC website, Imran had last contacted his wife before leaving for the mosque.
A photo, reportedly of Khan, is doing rounds on social media, showing a man in a black T-shirt and trousers covered in blood, slumped unconscious against a man wearing a grey mushroom who is talking on the phone.
The Karimnagar resident had moved to New Zealand in 2002 and was running a restaurant in Christchurch.
He was married to a New Zealand resident who recently gave birth to a son.
His uncle Manzoor Ahmed Khan, who owns a marriage hall in Karimnagar, has reportedly left for New Zealand, said a family member.
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 Express, adding that his VISA for New Zealand has been approved.
On Friday, AIMIM president 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 were 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.