The Indian Government has said that the death of Indian maid Asima Khatoon working in Riyadh was due to tuberculosis and not torture by her employer as reported.
“On receipt of information, our Embassy in Riyadh sent one of its officials to King Saud Chest Disease Hospital, Riyadh one of the reputed Hospitals for TB, on Monday. He was told by the Mortuary In-charge that she was admitted in the Hospital on 27.4.16 and later shifted to the ICU. The death was due to natural reasons and he was informed that all the requisite documents have been handed over to the sponsor for submission to the Embassy,” External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup said.
As per Khatoon’s death report, she died on 2.5.2016 due to ‘disseminated T.B. and multi organs failure’. The young woman from Hyderabad had a history of TB and she had received anti-TB drugs in 2012 for 3 months.
Swarup added that Khatoon’s sponsor had visited the Embassy earlier on last Tuesday and again on Monday to complete documentation in order to transport the mortal remains to India.
According to the sponsor, she worked with him for about 4 months and 16 days for which he has deposited with the Embassy 5 months’ salary. The Indian Embassy in Riyadh is in touch with Khatoon’s family in India to determine future course of action.