A man from Thiruvananthapuram district was shot dead allegedly by security forces in Jordan while he was trying to illegally cross the border to Israel, his family was told by the Indian Embassy in Amman via e-mail.
The deceased was identified as 47-year-old Thomas Gabriel, a resident of Thumba on the outskirts of the state capital. His acquaintance Edison, who was along with him and sustained bullet injuries during the incident, was deported to India and reached the Kerala capital earlier this week.
Gabriel’s family members said they were notified of his death by an official at the Indian Embassy in Amman on Saturday and stated that they were unaware of his trip to Jordan or his attempt to cross illegally into Israel. They confirmed that Gabriel and Edison had gone to Jordan on a tourist visa in the first week of February.
A local panchayat representative said Gabriel ran an autorickshaw in the area before his trip to Jordan.
“We have been told in the email that Gabriel was shot and that he died on the spot. The incident happened on February 10 on the Israel-Jordan border,” a relative of the man told HT.
{{/usCountry}}“We have been told in the email that Gabriel was shot and that he died on the spot. The incident happened on February 10 on the Israel-Jordan border,” a relative of the man told HT.
{{/usCountry}}The e-mail addressed to his family stated that Gabriel and Edison were trying to cross the Jordan border illegally at Karak district.
“The security forces tried to stop them but they did not listen to the warning, the guards opened fire on them. One bullet hit Thomas in his head and he passed away at the spot. Later his body was sent to the local hospital. Officials of the embassy will be visiting the hospital to verify the identity of Thomas where the mortal remains are kept,” the email said.
Another relative of Gabriel told reporters, “The last time he called us was on February 9. He said they were safe in the place where they stayed. He dropped the call suddenly. After that, we have never been able to speak to him.”
The family has appealed to the Indian authorities to help bring Gabriel’s remains back home.
“The Embassy has learnt of the sad demise of an Indian national in unfortunate circumstances. The Embassy is in touch with the family of the deceased and is working closely with Jordanian authorities for transportation of mortal remains of the deceased,” the Indian Embassy in Jordan posted on X.