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Minister of State for External Affairs Pabitra Margherita and Bihar Governor Syed Ata Hasnain as part of an official Indian delegation attend the funeral ceremony of Iran's slain supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. | Khamenei, who ruled Iran for last three decades, was killed on February 28, the first day of massive U.S. and Israeli air strikes on Tehran."Hon'ble @GovernorBihar and I represented India at the funeral ceremony for Grand Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, former Supreme Leader of Iran, in Tehran. Conveyed our respects on behalf of the Government and the people of India. @PMOIndia @MEAIndia," Minister of State for External Affairs Margherita posted on X and also shared some photos the ceremony.#WATCH | Representing India's official delegation, MoS Pabitra Margherita and Bihar Governor Lt Gen (Retd) Syed Ata Hasnain paid tribute to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during the funeral ceremony in Tehran.The event was attended by leaders and dignitaries from across the world.… pic.twitter.com/wyDTHEhsnr— India Today Global (@ITGGlobal) July 3, 2026The Bihar Lok Bhawan in a post on X said the governor also extended deepest condolences to the families of those who have lost their lives in the recent conflict in West Asia."Represented India at the funeral ceremony of His Eminence Grand Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei in Tehran today, along with MoS External Affairs @PmargheritaBJP. Also extended deepest condolences to the families of those who lost their lives in the recent conflict. @MEAIndia @atahasnain53," the Governor's office posted.It also shared some photos of the solemn ceremony.The Embassy of Iran in India also issued a post sharing visuals of Mr. Hasnain and Mr. Margherita offering their respects in a hall where the ceremony to mourn his death was held."The Special Representatives of the Government of the Republic of India, Bihar Governor Lieutenant General (Retd.) Syed Ata Hasnain and Mr. Pabitra Margherita, Minister of State for External Affairs, paid tribute to the martyred Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the embassy posted along with the video.In a separate post, the Iranian embassy said, "A delegation of Indian religious leaders paid tribute to the martyred Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei," and also shared a video carrying the visuals.Iran President Masoud Pezeshkian had invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the funeral.Former External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid is representing the Congress party at the funeral ceremony.External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal at his weekly media briefing was asked who represented India at the ceremony as many persons are attending it."As far as the government of India is concerned, we issued a press statement on it that from our side.. Bihar Governor Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain (retd) and along with him Minister of State for External Affairs Pabitra Margherita, they are in Tehran today to represent India there (at the burial ceremonies)... for Iran's late Supreme Leader's," he said."The high-level representation in the ceremony underscores the importance of civilizational ties, including people-to-people connection, between the two countries, providing a robust foundation to political and economic engagements," the MEA said in its July 2 statement.The main funeral procession in the Iranian capital is scheduled for July 6, according to Iran's state-run media.On July 7, ceremonies will be held in the holy city of Qom, and the burial in Khamenei's hometown of Mashhad is scheduled for July 9. Published - July 04, 2026 01:43 am IST

At least three minors, including one from Bihar and two from West Bengal, several poor daily wage labourers, and the proprietor of the construction farm that was given the tender for the ill-fated warehouse in Kolkata’s Taratala, are among the 11 deceased who were killed in the tragic accident on Wednesday (June 24, 2026).The 17-year-old Ghee Kumar from Lagma village under Hemjapur police station in Bihar’s Munger quit his school after class XI and arrived in Kolkata’s Taratala around around a month ago with his four brothers Mannu Kumar (19), Manichand Kumar (24), Shahid Kumar (20), Shivchand Kumar (21) and father Rajendra Kumar (50) to work as a construction labourer in the warehouse that crashed down.Ghee Kumar was found dead in the accident, while Shivchand could not yet be traced by the rescue team, and the rest are undergoing treatment.Earlier, they used to work at a different construction site in Odisha. Rajendra and Manichand moved to this new location in Taratala a month ago, while Mannu, Ghee Kumar, and Shahid arrived here only 13 days ago. Their family members said that they each used to make only ₹400 to ₹500 daily.Mannu’s wife, Priyanka Kumari, said that he and Ghee Kumar called her only 45 minutes before the accident. “They made a video call from Mannu’s phone. But it was running out of charge. So, they said that they will call later. I am still waiting for that call,” said Priyanka, who got to know about the accident from social media at around 12:30 p.m.Soon her brother-in-laws Rohit and Kheerchand, who work at a different site in Kolkata, reached SSKM hospital. Ghee Kumar’s body was pulled out at around 4 a.m. on Thursday (June 25, 2026) while the rest four of the family were found in a critical condition last night. “I got married to Mannu only two years back. I have no children. My mother-in-law and I are housewives only. I don’t know how we would survive now,” she said.The two other minors who died in the accident are Rahul Chowdhury (17) from Char Shambhunagar in West Bengal’s Nodia and Sahil Sardar (17) from South 24 Pargana’s Ramchandrakhali.It was Rahul’s first job for which he arrived in Kolkata only 15 days ago with another relative, Chandrama Chowdhury (60), who also died in the accident on Wednesday (June 23, 2026). “He used to hate studying and therefore joined the workforce. He quit his schooling after class VII. His elder brother also works at a pipeline construction site in Assam, while their younger brother is a school-going child. He earned ₹9,000 last month, which was his first salary. He sent some money home and was so happy,” said Rahul’s elder sister Seema.She said that the family never wanted to send him to get a job at this age, but he was adamant to go for some work. “Janle konodin pathatam na kicchutei (Had we assumed this mishap, we would have never sent him),” she said.Rahul made his last call to Seema on Tuesday night (June 22, 2026) when he also showed him his worksite on a video call. “The roof already started shaking terribly. How could these people send these workers there despite knowing the risk!! They all should be punished for their deed. I lost my brother because of them.”Ganesh Kalandi (45) from South Chapra village in Jharkhand’s Dhanbad, who also died in the accident, was the sole breadwinner of his family. “I got married a year back, and my husband works at a fast-food centre in Deoghar. My mother is a housewife, and my younger brother goes to college. We lost everything today. Who will now take care of us?” Nikita (18), Kalandi’s elder daughter, broke down over a phone call.Ganesh used to work in Gujarat, where he used to get ₹10,000 to ₹15,000 monthly, while the payment from the Taratala site was yet to arrive, she informed.While the accident claimed the lives of several innocent poor labourers- mostly from Bihar and Bengal, it also killed Asgar Khan (54), the proprietor of Ayan Traders, who was given the charge of the construction by the land lessee Shambhunath Behar