Hundreds of Indian expatriates Tuesday evening attended funeral prayers for Fida Haris, the student who died of suffocation and heat after she was left locked inside a private school van. The funeral prayers were held at Al-Rayyan Mosque here after Asr prayers. Naas Vakkom, the well-known social worker who was instrumental in getting all the paper work done, told Saudi Gazette that the police and Indian Embassy officials were very cooperative which enabled an early burial. The death of the Upper Kindergarten student has sent shock waves through the Indian community here and many parents can be seen waiting in the scorching afternoon sun for their children to return from school. Some private bus/van drivers told Saudi Gazette that parents are now calling to ask them to be more careful while transporting students. “There is a state of panic among parents and we too are worried because a slight mistake on our part would mean the loss of an innocent life. What happened to that little girl was very unfortunate,” said Nizam, who drives a private bus to transport students living in the Mazroeah area in Dammam. The Indian community is still trying to recover from the shock of Fida's death. Many parents said that their children are now more careful to see if their friends are awake when the bus reaches school.
