Sultanpur

The bodies of two men who died in Saudi Arabia will soon be brought back to India after the Indian Embassy in Riyadh issued no-objection certificates (NOCs) in both cases, a local BJP functionary said on Wednesday.

Abdul Haq, district vice-president of the BJP minority cell, said the families had been awaiting the bodies' return, and the final formalities are now being completed.

Nandlal Pal (52), a resident of Saraiya Bharthi village under Dhanpatganj police station, went to Saudi Arabia in 2013 and again in 2016 to look for work. Haq said he was detained there in connection with a case.

On September 22, his family received a phone call from the jail informing them of his death. His wife, Ramkumari, who had been waiting for him since 2016, subsequently approached the Ministry of External Affairs seeking help to bring his body back to India.

In the second case, 26-year-old Abdul Qadir, son of Nazim and a resident of Hasanpur village under Badhuakala police station, died in a road accident in Saudi Arabia on September 24. Qadir travelled to Saudi Arabia on June 6, 2023, for job.

The BJP leader said he contacted officials at the Ministry of External Affairs and the Indian Embassy in Riyadh and followed up on both cases regularly.

"Once the remaining paperwork is completed, the bodies will return to their native villages," he said.

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Haq said the government of India would fund the return of Pal's body, whereas Qadir's employer would handle his repatriation expenses.