India's UAE mission to probe blood money scams

The Indian Government has instructed its consulate in Dubai to conduct a detailed investigation into a diya money scam involving Indian lawyers and their agents in the UAE who have allegedly duped families of Indian nationals who died in road accidents and work-related incidents here.

Diya is compensation paid to the family of a person who is killed in an accident or murdered.

Indian mission officials said they received several complaints about fraudulent claims of diya money (blood money) due to Indian families whose bread earners died in accidents.  Diya (blood money) is a form of compensation to dependents following the willful or accidental taking of a life.

Viju V Nair, son of an Indian driver who died in December 1997 in a road has lodged formal complaints against Mumbai-based Indian advocates and their counterparts in UAE who allegedly collected diya money worth Dh150,280 from UAE courts  but did not give a single penny to the family.

Viju’s father, KR Viswanathan Nair, was working in the UAE for 20 years, and for seven years till his death with Abu Dhabi-based Al Muhairy General Contracting company. He died in a road accident in Shahama, Abu Dhabi–Sharjah road in December, 1997.  While changing a punctured tire, he was hit by another vehicle, which drove away without stopping.
 
“The accident happened at 10.30pm and the body was spotted by the Abu Dhabi Police Patrol. We did know anything about the compensation and my uncle who worked here too did not have much idea,” says Vinu, his elder son, who started investigating the case after getting a job in the UAE.
 
The body was repatriated to India, but the family did not get any compensation as they were not aware of the legal proceedings here.  Later, they made a formal complaint to the Indian Ministry of External Affairs through the local Member of Parliament, P J Kurian, about not getting any compensation.
“After we submitted a complaint to the ministry in New Delhi, a lawyer from Mumbai, Udaykumar Mehta, informed us in a letter that he will file case in UAE and told us to contact the Mumbai firm and later sign a power of attorney that they made and dispatched to their home address to go ahead with the case.
“We have signed the power of attorney, got it attested and sent it back to the advocates. For four years, whenever we contacted the Mumbai firm on telephone, they used to give some excuses. Finally, the advocate informed the family that they will not get blood money because the vehicle that hit my father could not be identified,” says Viju, now a store keeper in a Sharjah firm.
 
Viju says Mehta, who is believed to be currently in Maharashtra, introduced an advocate MA Sakar Bagwala, to pursue the case in the UAE. “Udaykumar convinced us that we would receive the blood money soon.  After waiting for four years, in January 2003, the advocate told us there is no blood money as this accident happened at night time and there was no proof of vehicle which hit my father. “

He, however, has a copy of a cheque drawn on Dubai Islamic bank for the blood money amount in favour of the lawyer.

Viju’s family members have not directly met the advocates who claimed the money on their behalf.

Meanwhile the family went through a tough period as their only bread earner died in the accident, disrupting the children’s education and family budget.

The eldest Viju came to the UAE for a job and when he contacted Al Muhairy General Contracting company, his father’s employer, he realized that on December 5, 2000 one Sakar Bagwala received Dh150,280 from the UAE courts as diya money through cheque no 647369 from Dubai Islamic Bank.  He got a shock of his life and could not believe the advocates had  cheated his family.

In addition to making formal complaints with the Indian President Prathibha Patil, the Indian Minister of External Affairs, the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs, the Indian Embassy, Abu Dhabi and Indian Consulate, Dubai, Viju has also served two legal notices to the legal firm on the address MA Sariya Sakar Bagwala in, Mumbai. But that notice was returned due to refusal of notice by the owner.

“I am trying to send another legal notice through the Bar Council of India and if possible in the UAE courts. I was informed by the Indian Overseas Affairs Ministry that the Indian Consulate in Dubai has been directed to do a detailed investigation into the case,” Viju told Emirates 24|7.

Legal experts said the victims of such fraud are illiterate workers and expatriates who do not have relatives here. “The lawyers approach the legal heirs of the deceased directly or through some social workers.  They give them small amounts of money, help them repatriate the body and gain their confidence. Once they get the power of attorney, it is a good deal as the minimum diya money stipulated in the UAE is Dh200,000. The claim amount can go up if the party goes for civil case for more compensation,” said legal experts handling Indian expatriate issues.

There are freelance legal consultants who come here occasionally and file such cases through established legal firms. Customers should always go through a company with proper address and reputation, the experts said.  Such incidents are shame to good advocates who work under the Advocates Council, UAE Ministry of Justice, he said.

Indian Consulate officials told Emirates 24|7 that they will look into the diya money fraud complaints.

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