Undocumented Indian worker's body to be flown back from Oman

Muscat: Mortal remains of Bhikku Prasad, an undocumented Indian blue-collar worker who passed away in Oman after lying in coma for several days, will be flown back to India tonight, an Indian embassy official said.
“His mortal remains will be flown back to India tonight. His medical bills and expenses required for repatriating the body has been paid by the Indian embassy,” the official told Times of Oman.
Bhiku, the undocumented Indian worker passed away on Tuesday night. Bhikku from Uttar Pradesh in India, had come to the Sultanate hoping for a new life on a visitor visa. After three months of looking for a job, he got one.
However, after joining the company, he collapsed on the third day at work. As his papers were still being processed, he was classified as an ‘undocumented’ worker.
Without the correct papers, he was stuck in a bureaucratic limbo, with no one ready to pay his medical bills. Had he come to Oman through the proper channels, his hospital treatment would have been covered.
According to medics, from day one, Prasad was in a critical state.
TOO had reported Prasad’s story on June 12. That night itself, Sushma Swaraj, the Indian Minister for External Affairs, responded to the story and tweeted that if medics permit, he would be flown back.
Retweeting TOO’s news report on Bhikku, the minister said medics in Oman had denied the Indian government permission to fly him back home as he was too ill to be moved.
“We wanted to fly Bhiku Prasad of Kushinagar, Uttar Pradesh in India. Oman doctors have denied permission. We are bearing his expenses because he is an Indian national,” the minister tweeted. However, Prasad passed away on Tuesday night.
However, Bhikku was not in a condition to be flown back to India and he passed away last Tuesday.
On June 15, the minister tweeted that Bhikku’s mortal remains will be sent to his family in village in Uttar Pradesh.
The Indian government had implemented the e-Migrate system in August 2015, to ensure safe migration.
If a worker uses e-Migrate system, the government of India not only guarantees safe migration but also provides free-of-charge insurance cover to the worker.
Unfortunately, Bhikku had not migrated through e-Migrate system.