Minister K.T. Rama Rao on Wednesday urged the United Arab Emirates government to approve the mercy petition of five NRIs from Rajanna Sircilla district, who are languishing in the Aweer Jail in Dubai. He is in Dubai seeking to intensify efforts to get the NRIs repatriated at the earliest.
Towards this, the minister spoke to the Indian Consul General in Dubai, the Arab lawyer who is handling the case and other government officials to enquire about the status of the case.
Shivarathri Mallesh, Shivarathri Ravi, Gollem Nampally, Dundugula Laxman and Shivarathri Hanmanthu are in Dubai prison for the last 15 years in connection with the death of a Nepali.
Rao had also visited Nepal to meet family members of the deceased and handed over `15 lakh as compensation as per Sharia Law ‘Diyyah’ (also referred to as ‘blood money’). Later, the victim’s family submitted the mercy petition documents to the UAE government. However,
due to some reasons and the gravity of the crime, the government did not approve the mercy petition.
Rao once again brought the facts of the case to the notice of Indian consul officials and Dubai government officials. Expressing his concern, the minister urged the UAE government to approve the mercy petition considering that the five NRIs have already served 15 years and have good conduct certificates from the jail authorities.
As the Dubai court had rejected the case, Rao urged the officials to get approval for the mercy petition from UAE ruler Sheikh Mohammed. He had earlier met businessmen having close ties with the ruler’s family. They assured to take up the issue with the Dubai government within the purview of the local laws.
Rao appealed to Indian Consul General Ram Kumar to put special efforts and promised all support at the personal and the government level.