Telangana shunts Hajj Committee official over ‘insensitive remarks’ on Saudi bus accident victims
The Telangana government has moved against Mohammed Safiullah, who was the Director of the Telangana Urdu Academy and the Executive Officer of the Telangana Hajj Committee, after he made insensitive comments about the families of Umrah pilgrims who died in a bus crash in Saudi Arabia.
Safiullah was sent back to his original job with the Telangana Power Generation Corporation (TG‑GENCO) after a viral video showed him saying, “Why do you need to go see the charred remains?” to grieving relatives who had gathered at the Haj House in Hyderabad.
The remarks triggered furious reactions from the victims’ families and leaders of several political parties. Safiullah later apologized, but the state government decided to repatriate him to TG‑GENCO. B. Shafiullah, Secretary of the Minorities Welfare Department, issued the orders. Mohammad Asadullah, the Survey Commissioner of Waqf, became the new Executive Officer of the Hajj Committee and the Director of the Urdu Academy.
The tragedy struck on Sunday night near the holy city of Madina when a bus carrying 45 Umrah pilgrims from Hyderabad collided with a diesel tanker. One pilgrim survived and is now in a local hospital for treatment.
The Telangana government announced that it will arrange travel for two family members of each bereaved family to Saudi Arabia to perform the last rites in accordance with Islamic customs. The state also said that the deceased’s rites will take place in Saudi Arabia.
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