india

Updated: Mar 15, 2019 23:49 IST

At least two persons from Hyderabad were caught in the terrorist attack on the two mosques in central Christchurch on Friday, police said. One of them is critical while the other has gone missing.

Police said Ahmed Iqbal Jahangir, a 32-year-old resident of Amberpet area in the city, was grievously injured in the firing at one of the mosques where he had gone for Friday prayers. The whereabouts of Mohammad Farhaz Ahsan from Tolichowki area, who was said to be in the same mosque, are not known, they said.

Jahangir, who went to New Zealand some 12 years ago, has been running a restaurant serving Hyderabadi biryani and other Indian dishes, his elder brother Mohammad Khursheed told reporters. Jahangir lives in Christchurch with his wife and two daughters, aged three and five years.

“We do not know how exactly the shooting happened. What we were told by the police is that my brother was among scores of Muslims attending Friday prayers when some miscreant fired on them indiscriminately. We were told that he received bullet injuries in his chest and is expected to undergo surgery tomorrow,” Khursheed said.

His family members have approached Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen president and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi for help in getting Khursheed a New Zealand visa. Owaisi, in turn, has requested the Telangana government to arrange a visa so Khursheed can fly to Christchurch as soon as possible to help his brother and his family.

Khursheed said Jahangir last visited home around six-seven months ago. “He is in touch with us regularly. Ours is a big family -- nine brothers and five sisters. My mother has been weeping inconsolably since she heard the news,” he said.

Ahsan’s mother, Imtiaz Fatima, is also very worried about her son. “His wife called us in the afternoon and told us that he had gone to the same mosque where the firing took place and had not returned. Please let me know if the media has any further details about my son,” she said.

An electronics engineer, 27-year-old Ahsan went to Christchurch five years ago and has been working there. “His stays with his wife and two children, a son and a daughter. We are very worried about what exactly happened,” Fatima said.