GUNTUR: The death of Saira Banu, 55, from Islampet in Tenali town -- a victim of the recent stampede in Mecca who succumbed to her injuries while undergoing treatment at a hospital there on Saturday, has left her family members shattered. They were expecting her to recover and return home.
“All our hopes are now dashed after our relatives, who accompanied Saira Banu to Mecca, informed me of her death’ her husband Maqbool said, fighting back tears.
Maqbool, who runs a footwear outlet, was also scheduled to leave for Mecca along with Saira Banu, but could not do so as he had suffered a fracture in an accident. She had gone along with her relatives.
The relatives informed him that they were not allowed to stay with Saira Banu in the hospital where she was admitted and that the doctors there had told them that they would take care of her and that they (the relatives) could continue with their pilgrimage. “On their advice, we went on our pilgrimage. But, when we visited the hospital three days later, the staff there informed us that she had died and that her body was lying in the mortuary,’ a family member quoted the relatives as having told them.
AP State Minorities Finance Corp Ltd Chairman Md Hidayath, who consoled the bereaved family members, said the last rites of the deceased woman had been performed in Mecca on Monday.