Worker ‘being held hostage’

By Begena P pPradeep

An Indian man was allegedly being held hostage by his Bahraini sponsor last night for filing a complaint against him at the Indian Embassy.

The 39-year-old, who has been working for three years at an aluminium workshop in Salmabad, was said to have been locked up to prevent him from accompanying the dead body of his wife’s brother-in-law home.

The brother-in-law, 37, also Indian, committed suicide on Saturday morning at his Manama accommodation.

The salesman, who hung himself from a ceiling fan, was found by a colleague at 10.30am.

The 39-year-old asked for permission from his boss to go to Manama and make arrangements to repatriate the body, he told the GDN.

However, when he asked for 10 days leave to accompany the body home, his boss refused it and allegedly withheld his salary.

The man then filed a complaint at the Indian embassy yesterday.

“An embassy official called my boss and asked him to let me accompany the body and he agreed,” he told the GDN over the phone.

“When I returned to my company, my boss was waiting for me and grabbed my CPR, put me in my room and asked me not to leave except for work. “He also threatened to file a case against me if I dared to complain to anyone about my situation.”