Religious guru Gazi Fakeer dies, thousands gather to pay tributes | Jaipur News

Followers assemble to pay their last respects

JAISALMER: Religious guru of the Sindhi-Muslim community and cabinet minister Shale Mohammad’s father Gazi Fakeer(84) died after prolonged illness at a private hospital in Jodhpur in the early hours on Tuesday. He was in coma for the last few days.
Fakeer’s body was brought to Bhagu village where around 8,000-10,000 of his followers and people of various communities came out to pay tributes in violation of Covid related guidelines. People from Jaisalmer, Barmer and nearby areas came by own vehicles. The funeral procession was taken out from his native Jhabra village’s dargah, 8km away from Bhagu village. Later, as per Muslim rituals, he was buried at the dargah in Jhabra village near his father’s grave.
Although Shale Mohammad and other members of the Fakeer family appealed to the public to follow government guidelines due to the ongoing pandemic, many flouted SOPs and poured in for his last ‘darshan’. The Fakeer family repeatedly appealed to people to follow the guidelines but minister Shale Mohammad, who is currently corona-positive, himself took part in his father’s funeral. People wore masks during the funeral procession.
Even people in Pakistan’s Sindh state mourned the demise of Gazi Fakeer and the condolence messages came in from Pakistan too. Chief minister Ashok Gehlot, PCC chief Govind Dotasra and other leaders condoled the demise through tweets.
Jaisalmer district collector Ashish Modi too expressed condolences.
Jaisalmer resident Gazi Fakeer was a representative of many religious leaders of the Muslim community in Pakistan. He had a strong hold in the politics of Jaisalmer and Barmer and his family has been in active politics since quite a long time.