Indian expat's body repatriated three months after death in UAE while family thought he was in jail

Sharjah: The body of a 42-year-old Indian expat from Kerala was repatriated on Tuesday, just before it was scheduled to be buried in the UAE, three months after his death, while family had assumed he was in jail.

Jinu Raj Divakaran, a former driving instructor and taxi driver, had collapsed on a roadside in Sharjah on July 14 and was rushed to a hospital in an ambulance, where he died the same day. His body remained unclaimed in the forensic department for over three months.

The incident came to light after Prasad Sreedharan, a community volunteer in the UAE, was contacted by advocate Sinil Mundappally, senior central standing counsel, High Court of Kerala, who tried to help Jinu's family based on Jinu's sister's request, on Friday, October 24.

"When the advocate contacted me and said Jinu had been missing for three months, I formed a WhatsApp group for the search involving some known social workers and community volunteers in Sharjah," said Prasad, who coordinated the search efforts.

He said Jinu's sister Jiji had last spoken to him on July 7. When contact ceased, she enquired with some community members and one of them misinformed her Jinu had been picked up by police for a traffic offence and jailed. She believed this for months while desperately searching for her brother.

"The next day morning, I got the information that Jinu was not in any jail. Instead, he was rushed in the ambulance to a hospital in Sharjah after he collapsed on the roadside on July 14," Prasad recalled.

"Then I sought the help of Salam Pappinissery, who runs YAB Legal Consulting. He sent his PRO Nihas Hashim to check at the hospital and later in the forensic department, showing Jinu's passport copy. It was confirmed that he had died of cardiac arrest on the same day and that his body had been lying in the Sharjah Police mortuary."

With the body unclaimed for over three months, UAE regulations required it to be buried locally. The burial was scheduled for Monday, October 27, prompting an urgent intervention.

"Since his body remained unclaimed and no heirs came forward for over three months, as per the rules, it was scheduled to be buried in Sharjah as it is past three months. Hence, we were asked to get an order from the court," Prasad explained.

A relative in the UAE, who had not been in contact with Jinu for six years, was roped in to support. Through the legal consulting firm, they secured a court order for the repatriation of the mortal remains.

"Once the relative showed the proof of relation and explained the story, the court revised its previous order and allowed the repatriation," said Prasad.

The family and social workers collectively contributed Dh5,430 for repatriation to Thiruvananthapuram. NORKA, Kerala government's welfare body for the non-resident Keralites, arranged a free ambulance to transport the body to his home in Mallappuzha, Pathanamthitta.

"Under humanitarian basis, both the governments have supported us. We are thankful for that and we would like the expats to know about such great services," Prasad said.

He said Jinu had been estranged from his wife for seven years and maintained contact only with his sister. His mother had died, and his aged father is ill. He last visited Kerala in 2019.

After losing his jobs as a driving institute instructor and a taxi driver prior to that, he reportedly fell victim to a recruitment scam and was staying on visit visa.

"Someone offered him work in Russia and duped him of Rs 5 lakh that his sister had sent through bank transfers to two agents. She was also supporting him," Prasad said. He noted that the sister had shown documents of all the money transfers.

"She was heartbroken to hear that he was not even alive when they thought he was in jail. She was inconsolable when his funeral took place today," he added.