Omani-Indian expatriate's body still waiting to be taken home even after 113 days-India News and Travel Times Provides India-centric and other News and Features

Relatives of an Indian who died in Oman have been forced to go through a traumatic 113-day-wait, which may further continue, as it has emerged that he had a fake visa and held illegal citizenship status. Gangaram Bonda, who came to Oman on a visit visa in 2004 and stayed back, died a natural death on May 27 in Bid Bid, 53 kilometres north-west of Muscat . He was carrying a copy of a labour card in his pocket that belonged to another Indian expatriate. "It took a long time to establish his real identity to authorities in Oman and that delayed sending the body to India," Nali Hari Babu, a social worker in Oman, told Gulf News. According to the report, Hari Babu has worked endlessly for over three months to get the procedure completed. He pointed out that Gangaram had kept another person's labour card so that he could use the same to send money back home to his family. The deceased has left behind a physically challenged 30-year-old son, a mentally challenged 25-year-old son, a 16-year-old daughter and his wife. "Finally, we see light at the end of a dark tunnel and hope to send the body back after a week or so," he said. Gangaram's younger brother Swamy Gangaram said that they have been waiting a long time to get his body back. "He left nine years ago on a visit visa and has not returned despite so many pleas to come back. For over three months we are waiting for his body," he said over the telephone from Dubbak village of Dharpally Mandal in the Indian southern state of Andhra Pradesh. Desperate to get his body back, Swamy contacted Rita 'Ruchika' Samuel, a social worker who runs a Helpline website and comes from the same state, Andhra Pradesh, the report said. "They had retrieved Gangaram's passport but since the body was found after a few days it was in a bad state and establishing the identity took long," Hari Babu said.