India seeks probe into worker's death in Saudi Arabia

India has asked authorities in Saudi Arabia to probe an incident in which an Indian worker died allegedly after being assaulted by his workplace supervisor.

India has asked authorities in Saudi Arabia to probe an incident in which an Indian worker died allegedly after being assaulted by his workplace supervisor.

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Sudheesh Kalathil Parambil Narayanan, 34, who hailed from Kerala, succumbed to his injuries early on Sunday, two weeks after the alleged assault.

"The Indian embassy (in Saudi Arabia) has written to the Saudi foreign ministry with a copy to the local police to investigate the incident and also to conduct a post-mortem examination on the body," a diplomatic source told IANS from Riyadh.

Narayanan worked in a construction company at Barak, 150 km from the southern Saudi city of Khamis Mushayt and 1,000 km from Riyadh.

He allegedly got into an altercation with his workplace supervisor July 13 when the supervisor physically assaulted a fellow worker who was found taking a break after loading a dump truck with sand.

When Narayanan intervened, the supervisor, reported to be an Egyptian national, turned his rage on him and allegedly beat him till he became unconscious.

According to reports in the local media, his mother has requested the Indian embassy to arrange an inquiry into the incident and also sought punishment for the killer.

Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs Vayalar Ravi has written to India's Ambassador to Saudi Arabia MOH Farook to help investigate the case.

According to the source in Riyadh, though initial efforts to contact Narayanan's Saudi sponsor did not yield results, the sponsor finally managed to meet the worker just before he died.

"The sponsor managed to meet the worker before he died and also promised to help with his exit papers. But, unfortunately, he (Narayanan) passed away before he could leave Saudi Arabia," the source said.