Sitapur, 21

March (HS): A 26-year-old man was murdered in a suspected missile assault in

Riyadh, according to his family on Sunday, who have yet to acknowledge the

incident officially. Ravi Gopal, of Baghain village in Mahmudabad Police

Station boundaries, has been working as a driver in a plastic plant in Saudi

Arabia's capital since September 2025, his family claimed. Ravi's wife, Ritu,

claimed he last communicated with relatives on March 18 about 9.30 p.m. The

call was dropped after around 20 minutes, and when we tried to call again, the

phone was turned off. We also attempted to call his buddies there but were

unable to reach anyone, she explained. According to the family, Ravi's buddy

Ram Niwas, a Barabanki native who also works in Saudi Arabia, notified them of

his death the next day.

Ram

Niwas informed them that Ravi had perished in a missile attack near the

facility. Ravi's elder brother, Manmohan Dayal, stated that they were told Ravi

was working when he was buried in the rubble of a missile strike. He was

brought to a hospital, where physicians pronounced him dead. Ram Niwas

recognized the corpse, he stated. Dayal stated that Mahmudabad police had

called Ravi's family to get information about the event and his work for

verification. A family member who works in Saudi Arabia and is now roughly

1,400 kilometers away from Riyadh is likely to travel there to help confirm the

death. Ravi was the primary earner for his family and is survived by his wife

and four-year-old kid.

The

family has begged the state to compensate them and permit his body's

repatriation to their village. B K Singh, the Mehmudabad Sub-Divisional

Magistrate, stated that the government was in continuous communication with the

family members to arrange next measures. The family's information has been

gathered and shared with the government, which will take further action. Singh

stated that the administration had contacted family members.

Aseem

R Mahajan, Additional Secretary (Gulf) in the Ministry of External Affairs,

stated at an inter-ministerial briefing on Friday that the government received

information late on March 18 about the tragic death of an Indian national

during an attack in Riyadh, but did not elaborate on the circumstances. He

expressed his sympathies to the deceased family and stated that the Indian

Mission in Riyadh is in contact with them and working with local authorities to

ensure the early return of the lifeless remains. The Indian Embassy in Riyadh

also confirmed on social media that an Indian person was slain on March 18.

Hindusthan Samachar / Abhishek Awasthi