Was excited to reunite with family: Son recalls last call with Ujjain tailor killed in Kuwait missile strike

Brajesh Parmar

Ujjain: In what turned out to be his last conversation with his son, a day before he was tragically killed in an alleged Iranian missile strike on Kuwait International Airport, Manzoor Ahmad, a 50-year-old tailor from Madhya Pradesh’s Ujjain, could not contain his excitement at the prospect of reuniting with his family back home.

His son, Mohammad Anas, said Manzoor was booked on a flight from Kuwait to Mumbai on June 3 and was expected to reach Ujjain by Wednesday evening. “I spoke to my father for the last time on Monday evening. He was extremely excited about coming home and reuniting with the family. He said he would take a train to Nagda station from Mumbai, asking us to pick him up from there,” Anas told TOI, his voice breaking.

A pall of gloom descended on Ujjain’s Raj Royal Colony after word of Manzoor’s death on Wednesday reached the family.

The 50-year-old, who moved to the Gulf nation and spent the last three decades working as a tailor in the hope of providing a better future for his family, was to return home to attend his nephew’s wedding.

He was waiting to board his flight back to India at Terminal- 1 of the Kuwait airport when the missile struck, killing him on the spot and injuring several others. The missile hit also wrought significant damage to the airport infrastructure.

Anas recalled how his father had been toiling day in and day out, away from home, for 30 years to save every penny for his loved ones back home. “When he was home the last time, in October 2025, he promised to visit us more frequently. Little did we know that was to be his last visit,” Anas said.

His kin recalled Manzoor as someone who lived to bring happiness and smiles on the faces of his loved ones, adding that he had planned his trip home especially because he did not want to miss out on the upcoming family wedding.

However, in a cruel twist of fate, his shattered loved ones are now awaiting his return home in a hearse, far from a joyous welcome in a celebratory ambience that they had planned on.

As the news of his death filtered into the quiet Ujjain neighbourhood, a large number of relatives, friends and neighbours gathered at his Raj Royal Colony residence to extend their condolences.

Repatriation effort underway

Meanwhile, Manzoor’s relative, Mohammad Saleem, said official formalities are ongoing to repatriate his mortal remains to India.

The body is expected to arrive at the Ahmedabad airport on Thursday late evening, from where it will be transported to Ujjain by road.

Family sources indicated that if all administrative and legal procedures are completed on time, the last rites will be performed on Friday evening.