The body of a 65-year-old Indian man has been lying in the mortuary of a government hospital here in Saudi Arabia for more than five months awaiting repatriation, media reports said.
The body of Ali Hussain, an Indian carpenter who died in June this year following a heart attack, has been lying in a mortuary in Jeddah government hospital even as his son Saddam, who works in Jubail as a labourer, has been striving to fulfil his mother's wish to see her husband one last time.
Despite the long delay, the family is still hopeful of receiving the mortal remains of the deceased man.
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"All paperwork to repatriate the body has been completed, but the sponsor is dilly-dallying," Saddam was quoted as saying by the Saudi Gazette.
"The last time I managed to talk to my late father's sponsor was about a week ago. Since then he has stopped answering my phone calls," he said.
The Indian Embassy has taken up the matter with the authorities concerned, said Hifzur Rahman, first secretary, political, information and education.
"We issued the no objection certificate in October. We have asked the Al-Ahsa police chief to expedite the process and to either repatriate the body or bury it here," he said.
Ali, who has been in the Saudi kingdom for 17 years, along with 13 of his co-workers had filed a case with the labour office against his sponsor, who had not paid their salaries for four months.
Sources say that clearance for repatriation or burial cannot be given until and unless the case is settled.
