These conjoined sisters have given up eating for Salman

Saba and Farah Shakeel, 19, who are joined at the head, are so grief-stricken by the news of their ‘bhaiya’s’ sentencing that they are now fasting for his well-being. M I Khan reports from Patna

The news of actor Salman Khan being sentenced to 5 years in jail in the 2002 hit-and-run case has shocked several of his fans, with many of them taking to social media to vent their shock and sadness.

In the house of Saba and Farah Shakeel in Samanpura locality in Patna, one can sense the disappointment and the grief.

The conjoined twin sisters, avid fans of Salman, were so grief-stricken by his sentencing that they have refused to eat and are only praying for his well-being. 

“Both Saba and Farah are shocked that the court found Salman guilty. They have decided not to eat lunch. It is still to be seen if they will eat dinner,” said Shakeel Ahmad, the twins’ father.

Speaking about their love for Salman bhaiya, as they refer to him, Shakeel says that the twins have been his fan since childhood. Their love for him grew even stronger when a few years ago, the Bollywood star invited them to his house in Mumbai on the occasion of Raksha Bandhan and gifted the two of them Rs 50,000.

Farah and Saba are joined at the head since birth. Medical tests show that the twins have distinct brains and are neurologically and psychologically normal, but only one of them has kidneys.

Abu Dhabi’s crown prince Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed had earlier offered to pay the entire medical bill for the surgery of the twins but the girls and their family turned down the offer as it could put the life of one of them at risk.

Dr Benjamin Carson, an American neurosurgeon, had also offered to operate on the conjoined twins a few years ago. He said that they need a series of surgeries and each surgery would put the life of one of the girls in danger. He found out that the sisters share a vital blood vessel in the brain and Saba doesn’t have a kidney. 

However, in 2013, the Supreme Court had ruled out the option of carrying out a surgery to separate them and ordered the Bihar government to give financial help to the family.

Image: Conjoined twins Sabah, left, and Farah are avid fans of Salman Khan. Photograph: Adnan Abidi/Reuters