Suresh Yadav

The fate of a Nepali migrant worker, Umesh Yadav of Machijhtakaiya VDC-4 in Dhanusha, who has been serving a jail sentence in Saudi Arabia for the last six years, is still uncertain as the legal process for his release has stalled.

Yadav was given a death sentence by a Saudi court and the Nepal government tried to settle the case through the payment of blood money. In this kind of settlement, the victim´s family recommends the release of the guilty after being paid money for the life lost.

The situation has worsened for Yadav and his indigent family as the Nepal embassy in Saudi Arabia is showing no further interest in the matter, informed a source. Saudi police had arrested Yadav in 2009, accusing him of involvement in the murder of a Pakistani national.

“In the beginning, the Nepal government had decided to pay the required amount for his release but now the authorities seem to have forgotten about this,” complained the source.

However, chief of Dhanusha District Administration Office (DAO) Shrawan Kumar Sah said that they have taken initiatives for Yaday´s release through blood money payment. “Considering their poor economic condition , we have been working to settle the issue from our side,” said Sah.

Yadav and his family had been surviving on the wages received working other people´s lands.

“The loan incurred for meeting Umesh´s travel expense is still unpaid and now any hope of his return is also shrinking every day. Don´t know how I will cope in the long run” said his wife Sanju.

After the arrest, the burden of raising their two sons has been shouldered by her alone.

“Had it not been for help from my parents´ family, we would have starved long back. It is not easy for an illiterate mother to raise children by herself,” she said.

Published on: 15 May 2013 | Republica