Family of Indian shot in Doha seeks compensation from Qatar
35-year-old left blind in one eye after being shot by employer for asking for leave
Dubai: The family of an Indian worker, left blind in one eye after being shot by his employer in Doha, has sought monetary compensation from the Qatari government.
Haider Ali, 35, was shot in the face allegedly by his sponsor I.Y.A., a Qatari national, when he asked him for leave to visit his family in the state of Bihar in eastern India. Gulf News broke the story on Friday. A hospital room picture of Ali shared by the family on Sunday appears to show that he has lost his right eye in the horrific attack.
Ali was discharged on Sunday after spending three weeks in Doha’s Hamad General Hospital, a senior officer at the Indian Consulate in Qatar told Gulf News on Sunday.
“Mr. Haider Ali is now in good health and has been discharged from the hospital. We are in regular touch with his family and also with the authorities concerned in Qatar,” said SRH Fahmi, first secretary (Labour & Community Welfare), in an email statement to Gulf News. There was no mention of Ali’s lost sight.
A welder by profession, Ali was scheduled to fly to Delhi from Doha on the night of October 30. A day before his journey, he visited his local sponsor’s house and asked permission for leave. Details of what transpired between the two are sketchy but initial reports suggest that at some point the employer flew into a rage, pulled out a gun and shot Ali.
His younger brother Afsar said they learnt of the incident through a relative in Qatar. “Later we were contacted by an Indian embassy official in Doha,” Afsar said while speaking to Gulf News from the family’s thatched brick house in Bela Village in East Champaran district of Bihar.
News of the incident has plunged Ali’s wife and six children into shock and despair. His 65-year-old father, Ammar, collapsed and had to be rushed to a hospital. Now back home, Ammar remains bedridden, refusing to speak or eat.
On Sunday, Afsar made an emotional video appeal from his ailing father’s bedside asking for compensation from the Qatar government and Ali’s employer.
“We heard that my brother who worked in Qatar has been shot by his sponsor. He has lost an eye,” Afsar is heard saying in the video. “The embassy has helped us a lot. I want the embassy to similarly also help us in helping my brother get compensation from the Qatar government or his local sponsor. He’s been rendered handicapped. He’s got five daughters and a son aged between 12 and three years. The situation is grave. I want the Indian government to help my brother’s family get suitable compensation from Qatar government,” he said.
Afsar said he got a call from his brother’s office on Sunday saying that he has been discharged but hasn’t heard from Ali as yet. “We are anxious. My brother’s phone is not with him. We have no idea what’s happening,” he said.