Rights Institute helps stranded expat fly home

An Indian expatriate who was stranded in the Kingdom allegedly after being trapped by his employer finally flew home, thanks to the timely intervention by the Bahrain National Institute for Human Rights (NIHR).

The institute took up the matter after NIHR chairwoman Maria Khouri held a meeting to understand the plight of stranded expatriates at the Bahrain Keraleeya Samajam during the first week of October. Sources said Surendran Pillai was hired as a driver for a beauty parlor and he remained unpaid for the past six months.

It is alleged that the employer also filed a theft case against Mr. Pillai to throw him into legal troubles. “The employer fled a complaint that he had stolen a mobile phone and cash from the company,” sources added. Though Mr. Pillai approached the Labour Ministry and the Indian Embassy after being helped by some social workers, it did not yield any result as the employer refused to respond to the summons notice issued to him.