A woman has filed a petition before the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court seeking a direction to the Central and the State governments to bring back the body of her husband who died in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in May.
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Justice G.R. Swaminathan ordered notice to the Centre and the State on the petition filed by A. Vettachi of Kalladhiri in Madurai district. The petitioner said her husband went to Riyadh in March as a construction worker. He was recruited by a Mumbai-based agent at a recruitment camp held in Madurai through a sub-agent. Following a series of procedures and after proper clearance, her husband left for Saudi Arabia, she said.
On May 20, she received a call from the sub-agent stating that her husband died of heart attack. The sub-agent asked her to submit a petition to the District Collector in order to bring beck the body of her husband, she said.
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She said on May 22, she received a call from the Indian Embassy in Riyadh seeking details about her husband. On June 19, she was informed that a no-objection certificate had been issued to send the body of her husband to India.
However, the very next day, she said, she was informed by the Indian Embassy that her husband’s body was buried by the Saudi authorities without informing the Indian authorities. They said the body would be exhumed and sent to India.
The petitioner said she was shocked and left helpless due to the contradicting statements by the authorities and they created suspicion regarding her husband’s death.