‘Shah Rukh’s film promotion has nothing to do with my son’s death’
NEW DELHI: Shah Rukh Khan’s Raees train promotion, which left a man dead, kicked up a row against the actor but the deceased’s mother has come out in support of the superstar, saying “he is not at fault”.
Farid Khan Pathan died of cardiac arrest as the crowd went berserk after Khan arrived at the Vadodara railway station on Monday night by August Kranti Rajdhani Express.
Pathan was a relative of a journalist who was travelling in the same train with the actor.
Hours after the incident, some sections blamed Khan for the tragedy. However, the deceased’s mother backed the actor, saying “his promotional gimmick has nothing to do with her son’s unfortunate demise”.
“We have nothing against Shah Rukh Khan as he is not at fault. He is also like my son, I would like to thank him for mak- ing last moment arrangements for our family to be a part of my son’s funeral. The incident has nothing to do with SRK’s Raees promotional event. My son fell prey to the crowd and succumbed due to suffocation. All we want are prayers from everyone for my son,” she said in a statement.
Farid’s niece, journalist Samina Shaikh, also said the actor’s team ensured that she and her family reached her uncle’s funeral safely. “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 SRK’s team arranged a car for us to Vadodara to attend my uncle’s burial,” Shaikh said. The journalist also spoke about how Khan broke down while consoling her. In another snow-related tragedy in north Kashmir, four members of a family died after