Sharjah: An Indian safety supervisor with a construction company that is winding up operations because of losses is stuck in the UAE as he is unable pay blood money to the family of a labourer who died after falling from an under-construction building in Sharjah in 2015.
K.B. Amruthanand, who hails from Kerala, told Gulf News that he was held accountable for the accidental death of a Bangladeshi worker after he slipped and fell through an opening on the rooftop during the construction of a beach resort in June 2015.
“There were more than 1,000 workers at the site. I was the only safety officer for all these workers and I was not told about work going on in that particular portion,” he claimed.
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.”
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 blood money to the worker’s family and also slapped a fine of Dh3,000.
However, Amruthanand claimed the company had not informed him about the verdict for several months. “The company ran into losses and it started laying off workers. It was only when I wanted to go home that I found out that I have to pay the diya. That was almost seven months after the judgement came out,” he said.
He said he was earning only Dh3,000 till a couple of months before the accident. “After persistent requests citing that I was doing the work of many persons, my salary was hiked to Dh5,000. But I got that salary only for a few months. I have not received salaries for the past 10 months. My passport and visa have expired and I cannot travel without clearing the dues at the court. The company has been kind enough to give me food and accommodation.”
After he approached the Indian Consulate in Dubai, the mission held negotiations with the company and the owner offered a cheque for Dh100,000 to Amruthanand last week. “I have paid the Dh3,000 fine. But I am helpless about the rest of the blood money. My heart goes out to the family of our worker who passed away. He was their breadwinner. His kids will be able to resume school only when this money reaches them. Both our families are suffering because of this.”
A person representing the company owner said the owner had struggled to give even Dh100,000 to Amruthanand since the company was facing over Dh80 million in losses. “We are almost shutting down. We hardly have a few dozen workers left and no project in hand,” he added.
