Expat’s plea to attend father’s last rites rejected by sponsor

Manama : An Indian expatriate whose father passed away on Sunday was unable to return to his hometown to perform his last rites as his sponsor allegedly refused to hand over the passport to him.

“My father passed away on December 24, 2017, and being the only son it was extremely necessary for me to go back to my home country and perform the last rites. Moreover, my mother, who was unable to cope up with the loss of my father, was admitted to the hospital in a serious condition,” C Rajesh who works in a building materials shop as a salesman told DT News. 

“I asked my sponsor for a leave so that I could go back to my home country but he refused to return my passport. I took the matter to Indian Embassy, but there wasn’t any response from their part,” he said. “I am in a really miserable condition. The sponsor hasn’t even paid my salary for the past two months. I really urge the officials to hear my plea and help me get back to my home country,” Rajesh pleaded. 

When DT News contacted Naif, the sponsor of the expat worker, he said, “I absolutely have no problem with him going back to his home country.” 

“Rajesh had come to me a couple of months ago saying he wants to go back home. I told him to train a person before proceeding. Just a few weeks ago he again came back to me and said he wants to go back home. I asked him whether he wants me to cancel his visa or want a return ticket. Initially, he stated that he will come back. A few days ago he came to me asking not to cancel visa and provide a one-way ticket as his father had passed away,” said Naif.

“I was suspicious over his statements and I thought he would run away and won’t come back, as one of his relatives ran away with more than BD3000. The CCTV footage showed Rajesh putting the suitcase of his relative in the car before fleeing the country,” said Naif. “I also noticed most of the cable wire stocks in my shop were missing, for which Rajesh was responsible. Because of cable missing, I have been in a huge loss so I asked him to wait until the auditors count the stocks. If you’re are not responsible, you can leave or ask someone to give me a guarantee on your behalf and if there is any fraud they will take the responsibility on your behalf,” Naif said.

“As per the contract an employer is only supposed to pay for the travel ticket after a completion of two years and when he approached me initially to go back home, the travel allowance had to be deducted from his pay. I am not trying to deprive him of any rights but merely protecting my rights as an employer, “ the sponsor added.