Lucknow: The Sitapur district administration has swung into action to facilitate the process to bring home the body of a 26-year-old migrant worker who was allegedly killed in a missile strike in Riyadh, even as officials reached out to the grieving family and assured all possible assistance.MLA Asha Maurya met the family of the deceased and extended her condolences. She also facilitated a telephonic conversation between the bereaved family and minister Rajnath Singh. During the interaction, the minister expressed his sympathies and assured the family of all possible assistance from the govt.Sitapur DM Raja Ganapathy R told TOI that they are in touch with the embassy and the body of Ravi Gopal will be repatriated soon.Naib Tehsildar Rakesh Trivedi met Ravi’s family and assured them of all help. According to his family, Ravi, who was working at a plastic factory in the Saudi capital, was killed on the night of March 18 during a missile strike amid the ongoing Iran–Israel conflict.Ravi Gopal, a resident of Mahmoodabad in Sitapur, worked in a plastic factory in Riyadh since Sept 18, 2025 and was the sole breadwinner of his family.Family members said the incident occurred while Ravi was speaking to his wife over the phone. “He called around 8:20pm (IST) and was talking normally. Around 9:53pm, the call suddenly disconnected. His wife heard a loud explosion in the background before the phone went dead,” his elder brother Manmohan told TOI.Repeated attempts to contact Ravi failed as his phone remained switched off. The next day, on March 19, a friend informed the family that Ravi was killed in a missile attack in Riyadh.Ravi is survived by his parents, wife and their four-year-old son.Family members said Ravi first went to Saudi Arabia after his marriage in 2020 and returned briefly in 2025 for his sister’s wedding before leaving again for work.
