The sole bread winner of the family, the 23-year-old was one of the two employees at Mumbai’s Café Leopold who died in the attack on November 26.

A resident of Govinda village of Sant Kabir Nagar, Hidayatullah had joined Café Leopold just three months ago and used to send money to his mother regularly.

He was planning to visit the village later this month on the occasion of Eid when a marriage proposal was likely to be discussed.

On Saturday, however, it was his body that was returned to the village.

Hidayatullah’s mother is in a state of shock.

Speaking to The Indian Express over the phone, Farzad Jahani, one of the partners in Cafe Leopold, confirmed that Hidayataullah was one of his two employees who died in the terrorist attack. The other was Peeru Patsha. “When the terrorists opened fire, the staff ran out. Hidayatullah and Peeru were hit and fell down. After the firing stopped, the staff took them to the hospital where they both of them were declared dead on arrival,” said Jahani.

According to the villagers, Hidayatullah was the son of a small farmer Anwarul Haq, who died a couple of years ago. The family’s only source of income was its small plot of land, which it had rented out for cultivation.

Ram Dhar Maurya, Station Officer of the Ghanghata police station, said, “The financial condition of his family was not good.

Hidayatullah’s mother had been getting a pension of Rs 300 per month after the death of her husband.”

After his elder sister got married, he left the village for Mumbai in search of a job. He had studied up to Class 12 and had also done a course in computers.

After three months, Hidayatullah got a job in a private firm. No one was sure what was he doing in the cafe. Neighbours thought he worked as a billing assistant. Perhaps Hidayatullah himself gave that impression, but Farzad says he was a waiter.

On November 27, a neighbour received a call from Mumbai. The caller, who identified himself as a friend of Hidayatullah, said he had died in the terror attack. The relatives went to Mumbai and brought the body back. Sub-Divisional Magistate of Sant Kabir Nagar Ram Shankar Lal Srivastava said they had provided an assistance of Rs 20,000 to the family, as Hidayatullah was the lone bread earner.