Four pilgrims stopped from going to Haj because of confusion in their namesThey might have nurtured the dream of going on Haj all their lives, but it took the authorities just a few minutes to shatter it. However, officials say it is a case of strange resemblance in two persons’ names that led to the blunder. Sources said the officials of the Haj Committee mixed up the call numbers of four people in Surat, who were keen to go on Haj this year and had also blocked their money. A group of four people led by Abdurrehman Abdullahmiyan Shaikh of Surat had applied for Haj 2008 and were selected in the draw held by the Haj Committee. However, when they failed to get the cover number in time, they approached the Gandhinagar office of the committee. There, an official named Mehmoodbhai told them that they were allotted the number GJ 6741-2-0. The digit ‘2’ in the number suggested that they were a group of two. When the applicants pointed out the anomaly and said they were a group of four, they were asked to pay for four pilgrims. The applicants paid the money as they were advised.However, after this incident, they did not receive any communication from the authorities about the matter. A panic visit to Mumbai revealed that the correct number allotted to the group was GJ-1111-4-0 and not GJ-6741-2-0 as they were informed earlier at the Gandhinagar office. But by that time the damage was done. The mistake had happened because of the common name of the team leader — Abdurrehman Abdullahmiyan. The applicants requested the State Haj Committee officials to rectify the mistake and help them get a refund of Rs 3,87,760. “If we get our money back, we may still get a chance to proceed to our pilgrimage through a private Haj tour operator, though it would mean an extra expenditure of two lakh rupees,” said Mohammad Sadik, Shaikh’s nephew.“No one listened to our pleas,” said Mohammed Sadik. When they spoke to Mehmoodbhai, he told them, “Aapke naseeb me is saal Haj nahin likhi hai.” (You are not destined to go on Haj this year) “How can he say so? If we get our money back, we can go even now,” said Shaikh, angrily.Curiously, State Haj Committee Secretary Imtiyaz Shaikh is reportedly ill and undergoing treatment. Another official, Gulamnabi Desai, the committee affairs in-charge, said the error occurred because of the same first name, father's name and surname of the applicants, who also belonged to the same district." He said, the "It was unintentional. The applicants can go to Mumbai to get refund if it is so urgent. We can only suggest that the applicant's surname should also be included in the acknowledgement receipt to avoid such mix up."
