The mortal remains of Manzoor Ahmad, a 50-year-old Indian tailor who worked in the Gulf, reached his residence at Raj Royal Enclave in Ujjain late Thursday night, a day after he died in a suspected Iranian missile strike at Kuwait International Airport. His remains arrived by a passenger flight from Kuwait to Ahmedabad airport and were then transported by road in an ambulance to his hometown, according to his brother-in-law, who received the body at the airport.
Before the coffin was taken into the house, it was briefly opened. His widow, Farida, who was among the mourners, broke down after seeing her husband one last time. He had been expected to return home for a family wedding under happier circumstances. The family, stunned into silence by the tragic homecoming, prepared for his burial.
A funeral procession was held with a large number of community members, and he was buried at the Begambag cemetery. According to the family, Manzoor’s brother-in-law, Mohammed Ismail, along with two others, went to Ahmedabad airport in an ambulance to collect the body. They had to wait for some time due to formalities before the handover. The body was then transported via Nagda to Ujjain’s Raj Royal Enclave on Friday afternoon.
Firoz Pathan, a family member, alleged that no local administration official came to offer condolences. He said the family pooled Rs 27,000 to arrange the ambulance. Ravi Ray, the Congress Leader of Opposition at Ujjain municipal corporation, spoke to the Collector, who assured help. However, no government official has yet provided financial assistance. Pathan urged the government to show more sensitivity and support the grieving family.
A crowd of mourners, including his widow, mother Shamim Bano, daughters Saba Parveen and Sana Parveen, son Mohammad Anas, and other relatives, awaited his coffin. Minutes after it arrived, the family proceeded with the funeral. His cousin Munnawar Hussain Rahmani said that Javed, an acquaintance who runs Malang Al Zaid, a tailoring shop in Kuwait where Manzoor worked, helped pay for the repatriation of his remains.
Mohammad Hanif Quraishi, a friend from Kuwait who is also from Ujjain, attended the funeral. Hanif, who runs a perfume business in Kuwait, said they met almost daily. As he was preparing to return to Ujjain in April amid the worsening conflict in West Asia, he asked Manzoor to come along, but Manzoor declined due to high flight costs. Hanif was shocked to learn of his friend’s death.
Not only family and relatives but also neighbors turned out in large numbers for the funeral procession. Many took turns to shoulder the bier for about 100 meters before it was placed in a vehicle and driven to the cemetery, which is about 4 kilometers away.
