Faridh Khan Pathan, a resident of Hatikhana area of Vadodara lost his life during a stampede that was created when Shah Rukh, with his wife and his daughter, stopped at the Vadodara Railway station. Samina Shaikh, a journalist and niece of Pathan, travelled along with the team on the train. Pathan fell unconscious after which he was rushed to the hospital where he was declared dead.
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.” She further added, “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.”
Although, many politicians held Shah Rukh at fault, Faridh’s mother told the newspaper in a statement that Shah Rukh is like her son and no one from the family holds any grudge against him. “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”,she concluded.
