Keralites Raise Rs 34 Cr in 40 Days to Save Man from Death Sentence in Saudi Arabia

Thiruvananthapuram: In an exemplary show of communal harmony, Keralites joined hands across the religious and political spectrums to raise Rs 34 crore in 40 days to save a man from death row in Saudi Arabia.

This huge amount was raised by Friday evening, with just three days left to meet the court-set deadline for payment of the blood money worth Saudi Riyal 15 million, to the victim’s family.

The man who would be saved by this payment of the blood money is Abdul Raheem (41), who was sentenced to death 18 years ago by a court in Riyadh.

Recently, expatriates from Kerala managed to persuade the victim’s family to grant a pardon in exchange for blood money  to be paid before April 15.

Raheem was convicted of causing the death of his sponsor’s 15-year-old paraplegic son. Raheem accidentally knocked down a medical aid connected to the boy’s neck to help him breathe. The boy fell unconscious and died.

Venghat, general secretary of the Saudi unit of the Kerala Muslim Cultural Centre, an organisation aligned with the Indian Union Muslim League, recently arrived in Kozhikode to pursue a donation drive with the help of all political parties, including the BJP.

A man named Suresh is chairman of the legal aid committee, which launched a Save Abdul Raheem mobile app in Kozhikode on March 3. The collection drive gathered pace with entrepreneurs and vloggers publicising the cause.

The committee closed the donation drive after the requirement was met on Friday evening.

The process had begun to transfer the funds to the Indian embassy in Riyadh, through which the money would be remitted to a dedicated and court-monitored bank account.

Once that is done, Raheem’s release can be secured.