Kalamassery: Youth's body to come home on July 31

Kochi: After a tense wait of over 50 days, a family based at   Kalamassery had  some solace as the authorities for the first time have  communicated to them that the mortal remains of their son, who died in a mishap in Saudi Arabia on June 4, will be brought home on July 31. Mr S. Vijayakumar, a resident of Changampuzha Nagar, Thrikkakkara North Village, Kalamassery, was running from pillar to post seeking the intervention of the authorities here in bringing back the body of his son V.S. Karthikeyan.

The youth, who worked as spareparts picker in Jeddah-based Al Jazeera Ford Vehicles, died in a car mishap and his body was kept in the mortuary of the Abha private hospital, nearly 900 km from Riyad, since June 4.  However, the company’s negligence  in conducting the procedures led to the inordinate delay in taking the  body home.  Even the Indian embassy in Riyad said it had done all it could and that the company should initiate steps like getting nod of the Governor for further action.

“Thanks to the initiative taken by a Malayali forum based in Riyad,’  we’ve been informed that the body will be taken to Dubai from the Abha hospital and from there it  will be brought here on July 31 early morning via a Fly Dubai plane. At least we will be able to perform the last rites now,” Mr Vijayakumar said. The mishap occurred just four days before his  engagement and when he was planning to fly back home. Karthikeyan was the sole breadwinner of his family.