Hyderabad: The Hyderabad Umrah pilgrims who died in the bus accident near Madinah, Saudi Arabia, will be buried at Jannatul Baqi on Friday, November 21, after Saudi authorities approved the request made by the visiting Telangana delegation.
The accident, which occurred early on Monday, November 17, claimed the lives of 45 Indian nationals — 42 of them from Telangana — after their bus collided with a fuel tanker on the outskirts of Madinah.
In a post on X on Thursday, November 20, Minister for Minorities Welfare Mohammed Azharuddin confirmed that formalities were being fast-tracked and that funeral prayers would be offered at the Prophet’s Mosque (Masjid-e-Nabawi) before burial at Jannatul Baqi. He thanked Saudi authorities and the Indian Embassy for their cooperation.
A three-member Telangana team, including Nampally MLA Mohammed Majid Hussain and Minorities Welfare Department Secretary B. Shafiullah, met senior Indian Government officials in Madinah on Thursday, to review procedures and coordinate support for the bereaved families. The delegation is working under the instructions of Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy.
The Indian side was led by Andhra Pradesh Governor Justice S. Abdul Nazeer, with Arun Kumar Chatterjee, Secretary (CPV & OIA), and Dr Suhel Ajaz Khan, India’s Ambassador to Saudi Arabia. They examined pending documentation and clearance requirements for completing the last rites.
DNA verification and other procedures were completed after around 40 relatives of the deceased reached Madinah over the past two days. Azharuddin noted that almost all formalities had been finished, with only a small portion pending.
The families are staying at a hotel located less than a kilometre from Prophet’s Mosque, arranged by the Telangana Government. Some relatives asked for permission to view the bodies, but officials informed them that this might not be possible due to the condition of the remains.
Why Jannatul Baqi is significant
Funeral prayers (Salat al-Janazah) are performed at the Prophet’s Mosque after every obligatory prayer, and several prayers take place daily. However, burial at Jannatul Baqi is highly regulated. The cemetery is one of Islam’s most important burial grounds, containing the graves of members of Prophet Muhammad’s (peace be upon him) family and many early companions.
Due to limited space and strict criteria, only individuals who pass away in Madinah and receive formal approval from local authorities are permitted to be buried there.
