The other two Indians executed by terrorists were also from Andhra Pradesh. Jaffer Mashadi was from the East Godavari district, while Dr Mir Mohuddin Beig lived about two hours away from Hyderabad.

Ahmed Ali’s small house in Noorkhan Bazaar, part of the old city, is overflowing with relatives, friends and local politicians. Ahmed Ali had gone on the pilgrimage alone this year, leaving his wife, three children, mother and brother back in Hyderabad.

The family received the news late last night from the family of M Beig. They later got a call from the Indian Embassy in Baghdad.

According to Ali’s brother, Haider Ali, the family also spoke to the tour organisers, as well as other female members of the pilgrimage, who told them what had really happened.

“The bus had 42 people in it, out of which 18 were men. The bus was on its way from Jordan to Karbala. At around noon, it broke down about 100 km from Karbala. Tour organiser Sayeeda Zainad told us that four armed men claiming to be policemen entered the bus,” says Haider. These men reportedly got the passengers to alight and take all their baggage out.

“We were told that they then put the women back in the bus and told them to go to Karbala, saying that the men would be interrogated and released after prayers.”

The travellers’ passports, money and valuables were all snatched by the assailants.

But after the women finished evening prayers, the men did not show up. The women then informed local police, who searched the area. Along with local police, some of the women went back to the spot where the bus had been boarded.

Fourteen bodies were found lying by the road. The Indians were part of these. The bodies have already been buried in Karbala.

Ali's wife, Mallika Begum, is in shock and unable to speak. They have three children Yousha Haider (17), Kumeil Haider (14) and Zaira Fatima (16). His relatives said that he worked at an STD booth, earning about Rs 1,500 per month, the sole earner for his family. About two hours away from Hyderabad, in the Ghatkesar village of the Rangareddy district, the mood is similar. Dr Beig (58) was the founder of the Ghatkesar polyclinc, which is one of the oldest in the area. “He was a perfect person,” says his brother Mujahid Hussein. “He would treat anyone, even if they did not have money to pay him. If he wanted he could have gone to Hyderabad to get richer, but chose to live here.”

Beig's wife, Zahira Fatima, was also part of the tour. It was their first trip to the holy city. “Zahira called us from there, and she was inconsolable,” says Hussein. “Such a thing was totally unexpected, Indians are completely safe there.”

It was Zahira who had identified all three Indians after they had been executed.

Beig is survived by two sons. Ali Abbas is an MBA, and works in an FM radio channel, while Mehdi Abbas is an opthalmologist, also working in the Ghatkesar polyclinic. This trip was also the first for 65 year old Jaffer Mashadi. He retired as a manager for the Central Co-operative Bank in Nagaram village. His son-in-law Shaad Aqsari describes him as “a gentle person, who never wished anyone ill.” “It’s very sad, Muslims being killed by Muslims,'” says Aqsari.

In the largely Shia Noorkhan Bazaar area, feelings are running high. “This is an attack against Shia Muslims,” says Hassan Abbas Hashim Abidi, one of Ali's neighbours.

Ali left for Syria by flight on August 23. After doing the local pilgrimage there, the group then went to Jordan by road. “There is no need for a visa from there,” says neighbour and childhood friend Tirasat Ali Baqri. He himself has done the pilgrimage many times. “We cannot officially get a visa, as Indians are not permitted to go. So we get papers from Jordan, and then make the day trip there.”

The trip from Syria to Karbala takes over 24 hours. Sadly, they could not complete it.