Sharjah: An Indian safety supervisor, who was stuck in the UAE as he was unable to pay blood money to the family of a worker who fell to his death at his worksite in 2015, has flown home after Gulf News readers helped him settle the payment.
The story of K.B. Amruthanand, who hails from Kerala, was published in Gulf News two months ago. He said he was held accountable for the death of a Bangladeshi worker after the latter slipped and fell through an opening on the rooftop during the construction of a prominent beach resort and spa in Sharjah in June 2015.
Amruthanand had said he was the only safety officer for all those workers and had not been told about work going on in that particular portion.
He said the worker had not used a safety harness at the time of the accident. “Unfortunately, the company’s insurance had also expired a few days before the accident. I was not aware of that.”
When the case went to a court in Sharjah, Amruthanand said, the court found him guilty of not ensuring the worker’s safety and of making him work without an insurance. It ordered him to pay Dh200,000 in diya to the worker’s family and slapped a fine of Dh3,000.
The company, which allegedly did not inform about the verdict to Amruthanand till it started laying off workers due to huge losses, had finally paid Dh100,000 to him. That became possible after the Indian Consulate took up his case with the owner of the company.
After reading the Gulf News report that Amruthanand still had to raise Dh100,000 to settle the diya, he said, some 20 health and safety professionals from the UAE and Qatar banded together to support their fellow professional. They pooled in Dh70,000 and another Dh30,000 was donated by Indian businessman Firoz Merchant, MD and chairman of Pure Gold jewellery group.
While the Indian mission assisted in legal procedures, the safety professionals sponsored his ticket back home and also presented gifts for his family.
“I don’t have words to thank the Consulate, my fellow professionals and Mr Firoz Merchant, whom I have not even seen or talked to. They have saved two families through their generous acts — mine and the worker’s,” a jubilant Amruthanand said before heading to the airport to catch his flight home on Friday evening.
“I am going home after three years after returning from last vacation just two months after my marriage. My parents and wife are eagerly waiting to see me.”
He said he would definitely come back to work again in the UAE, but equipped with lessons learnt from the past mistakes. “That was an unfortunate twist in my life. But I will always be thankful to the UAE and the people here. I will come back for sure,” said the 30-year-old.
Blood money case an eye-opener for safety professionals
Sharjah: A group of health and safety professionals, who helped settle the blood money case of an Indian expat convicted for not ensuring safety in the accidental death of a worker, said the case was an eye-opener for them.
One of them, who did not wish to be named, told Gulf News that the report about K.B. Amruthanand in this newspaper in March was a wake-up call for them.
“We realised how this could happen to any of us as well. We decided to help him and also conduct awareness about such legal issues among our fraternity.”
He said some of them arranged a legal awareness class with the help of an advocate. “Almost 200 safety professionals took part in it. We learnt about all documents that we need to keep ready and what action we should take if any accidents take place.”
The professionals also discussed if they should just take up everything that their companies say or need to take any additional precautions from their side to avoid legal provisions that might act against them.
“We understood that the consultants and engineers working on that project were not on the same company’s visa and that was one of the reasons Amruthanand was held responsible as only he was made to represent the company.”
