After the intervention of the Delhi high court, the Ministry of Home Affairs has granted permission to bring back the body of Tehri district native Kamlesh Bhatt who had died recently in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Ministry of Home Affairs, Foreigners Section, Immigration director Sumant Singh issued an office memorandum on Saturday evening stating that the arrival of the bodies/mortal remains of Indian nationals/ OCI cardholders is permitted subject to strict adherence to governmental guidelines/instructions for containment of COVID-19 and other valid documentation. Following this, the Uttarakhand government has facilitated an ambulance and granted permission to two family members and the driver to travel to and receive the body at the cargo terminal of IGI airport in Delhi.
If the procedures are completed on time, the body is expected to arrive late on Sunday night from Dubai.
A native of Semwal village of Saklana Patti in Dhanaulti Tehsil of Tehri district, 24-year old Kamlesh Bhatt had expired due to a heart attack on April 17 in Abu Dhabi. With the efforts of his family members and help from Uttarakhand native social worker Roshan Raturi in UAE, his body was sent from UAE to Delhi on April 23.
However, before his family members could reach the airport, the officials present there sent the body back to UAE due to some reasons. Bhatt’s younger brother Vimlesh Bhatt and his uncle Manish Uniyal sought help from the Central and State governments.
This news also spread on the social media. Taking cognisance of this, Delhi high court lawyers -Tehri native Rituparn Uniyal and Abhishek Kumar filed a writ in the high court on Saturday seeking the return of Bhatt’s body to India. Advocate Uniyal informed that despite if being a holiday, the high court heard the matter through video conferencing. He said that after hearing the matter, the court sought information from the additional solicitor general about action taken by the government.
The ASG informed the court that senior officials were holding a meeting regarding the matter at the time. Later, on Saturday evening, an office memorandum was issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs, immigration director Sumant Singh clarifying the position in such cases. Vimlesh Bhatt said that permission has been received now for taking the body. At Abu Dhabi, Raturi was busy fulfilling the necessary formalities for once again sending Bhatt’s body to India.