Sarasu last saw her son Vikas seven years ago, when he went back to his workplace in Oman after a short vacation.
Within a few days of his arrival, the 30-year-old from Thenmala was arrested and put behind bars for murder, a crime he never committed. Sarasu is one among the aggrieved family members from various parts of Kerala who met N.K. Premachandran, MP, here on Tuesday demanding immediate government intervention in the issue.
“His sponsor threatened him with a gun to dispose of a body and later accused him of murder. Initially, he was sentenced to death, but after a spate of petitions, we got a Yemeni lawyer and the case was reopened. The capital punishment was cancelled, but my son has been languishing in jail for the past six years,” Ms. Sarasu said.
‘Embassy unconcerned’
According to Omani law, expatriate convicts who have completed three-fourth of their jail term can be released if their countries submit a plea. “But the Indian embassy has failed in helping Keralites return home and there are many Malayali inmates who have completed the compulsory period of incarceration. Most of them have not committed serious crimes,” said Jayachandran, social worker, addressing a press meet with the families.
Alappuzha native Santosh and Shajahan from Thiruvananthapurm were imprisoned when their Pakistani neighbours robbed a bank and killed a security guard using a gas-cutter borrowed from them. “They were sentenced for 20 years of imprisonment that will be over soon. If the embassy officials had intervened, they would have been released five years ago. There are many others like Abdul Manaf from Kollam and Navaz from Kothamangalam who have crossed three fourth of their jail term,” he said.
Habib, an expatriate from Alappuzha, who has visited some of the prisoners in jail, said most of the inmates lack basic legal assistance and translators. “There are restrictions in visiting prisoners, you can meet them only once in 15 days,” he said. While all other countries are keen on getting their citizen released after the three- fourth period is completed, most of the Indians are left behind.
“The embassy officials have shown no interest in their cases so far. Moreover, they are ignoring other complaints such as suspicious deaths. The family of Pramod, a lift operator from Chattannoor, was informed that he was crushed to death in a lift accident. However, there were no wounds on his body parts other than the face. Though his father approached the embassy several times, it has not initiated any investigation or contacted the company for compensation,” said Mr. Jayachandran.
