Son's Death: Aged parents mystified

An old Indian couple is in Dubai frantically trying to find out the reason behind the untimely death of their 26-year-old elder son Shyam Kumar Nair who died under mysterious circumstances, hardly a fortnight after landing in Dubai to join a leading bank as its sales supervisor.

His retired father Shashidharan Nair and mother Vasantha Nair have arrived from Pune, India in Dubai, after their elder son died of unknown reasons at a bachelor sharing accommodation behind the Al Kabayan Centre in Muraqqabat.

His cousin Suresh Kumar could not repatriate body to India because of delay in getting the death certificate. Shyam’s body is lying in the police morgue, more than two weeks after his death..

“Shyam Kumar was working with a leading bank in the UAE. He left the UAE eight months ago and returned 21 days ago to join a new bank as sales supervisor. He was very happy and did not have any major health problems. He donated two bottles of blood a few days before flying to Dubai to take up his new job,” said his father who is yet to reconcile with the fact that his elder son is no more.

After visiting the accommodation that Shyam Kumar shared with five others from Kolkata, West Bengal, he is more confused about the mysterious death of the young man during a long weekend. He died on June 7.

“He came to the UAE on May 17 and shared a room with five or six other people. He died 21 days after coming to Dubai. The reason for his death is still unknown. We are waiting for the final investigation report but the long delay in releasing the body is causing a lot of embarrassment and inconvenience. I have tried for 15 days to get the body released, and when my job schedule was affected, I urged his employer to fly in his parents. The parents came here to speed up the body repatriation but they are also now stuck here,” said Sharath Kumar, a cousin of the deceased.

“He told me he needed to change his room because he could not adjust with roommates speaking a different language. I don’t know what exactly happened,” said his father. “We were like friends and he used to keep me updated about everything.”

According to his friends, the deceased was trying to change his accommodation and had approached a few people for help. According to information provided by his roommates, Shyam was in his room when he suddenly became uneasy after 2.30pm on Thursday. He entered the toilet, locked the door and they heard a loud sound.

As the toilet door was locked from inside, they had to use force and some tools to open it. They said Shyam was found lying in the toilet and they called an ambulance and rushed him to Rashid Hospital. He died at about 5.30pm. He was declared dead by a doctor who has certified that there were no external injuries on his body. Initially, food poisoning was suspected as the reason for the death.

“A forensic report is awaited and the body cannot be repatriated without getting a death certificate. We cannot stay here for long to claim the body as we are on visit visa,” said his father.

He is also anxious to know the reason for his son’s death as he is sceptical about the story of his roommates. “We are approaching the human rights department of Dubai Police to release the body because it is summer and we don’t have much time to stay here,” he said.

According to police sources, an investigation into the death is ongoing and a case has been registered in the Muraqqabat police station. A postmortem was conducted on the body to ascertain the reason for the death and forensic investigation is going on, according to police sources. His relatives say a six feet tall man cannot lie in a corridor toilet.

“We can wait for the investigation report and want to know the exact reasons for his death. However, we want to repatriate the body and return home,” said Shyam’s sad and confused father.

He has approached the Indian Consulate for help, but without a death certificate, they are unable to help him. Getting a death certificate is crucial and without ascertaining the reasons for his son’s death, it cannot be issued. Police have questioned Shyam’s roommates who work for the same bank and the investigation is continuing.

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