New Delhi, Jan 25: Suffocation due to crowd led to the death of a social activist who collapsed during Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan’s train stopover at Vadodara railway station, confirmed the deceased’s family members, who also said they have “nothing against” the actor. Farid Khan Pathan, a resident of Hatikhana area of Vadodara, was at the railway station with his wife and daughter, when Shah Rukh was present there for the promotional tour for his film “Raees”.
Pathan fell unconscious and upon being rushed to a hospital, was declared dead. Journalist Samina Shaikh, niece of the deceased, was travelling with the “Raees” team at the time. In a statement issued on behalf of the film’s team, Samina said: “It’s unfortunate that my uncle lost his life due to suffocation in the crowd as he was a heart patient.”
“However, Shah Rukh Khan and his team made sure that my mother and I reach safely to my uncle’s funeral. We got down at Ratlam and Shah Rukh’s team arranged a car for us to Vadodara to attend my uncle’s burial.” The scribe also said Shah Rukh also ensured arrangements were made for their other relatives to fly in from Mumbai to Vadodara to attend her uncle’s last rites.
While Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders Kailash Vijayvargiya and Manoj Tiwari slammed Shah Rukh for the incident and urged him to compensate the family, the deceased’s mother said in the statement: “We have nothing against Shah Rukh Khan as he is not at fault.”
“He is also like my son… The incident has nothing to do with the ‘Raees’ promotional event. My son fell prey to the crowd and succumbed to death due to suffocation. All we want is prayers from everyone for my son.” A huge crowd had thronged Vadodara railway station to see Shah Rukh on Monday night as he was travelling to Delhi on August Kranti Rajdhani Express from Mumbai to promote his film. Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu on Tuesday ordered a probe into Pathan’s death.
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