By IANS
Thiruvananthapuram : After months of suspense, a Kerala youth accused of murdering his friend may be saved from the gallows in Kuwait as the wife of the victim has agreed to pardon him in lieu of Rs.1.5 million ($37,500) in compensation.
Malayalis in Kuwait will raise the amount to be paid as compensation following the initiative by Leader of Opposition in the Kerala assembly Oomen Chandy.
“Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Rajashekar Reddy will give Rs.500,000 and the rest would be raised by us. The money will be handed over to the family Monday and she would sign the papers,” Alappuzha district Congress president Shukur told IANS Friday by telephone from Cuddapah.
Simil, 26, worked in a resort in Kuwait, accidentally stabbed his friend, Suresh, Nov 21, 2007 in a scuffle that broke out between the winners and losers after a cricket match.
The sharp Kuwaiti knife sliced through 31-year-old Suresh’s neck. Suresh, a native of Cuddapah district in Andhra Pradesh, died in a few minutes, leaving behind a wife and two children.
Simil went to the nearest police station and owned up his crime.
Reddy agreed to pay a part of compensation after Chandy sought his help to persuade the wife of victim to pardon Simil.
Simil belongs to a poor fisherman’s family in Thottapally and had gone to Kuwait after mortgaging his house to pay for the passage. Village council member P. Sabu and a few of his friends last week met Suresh’s wife in Cuddapah and pleaded for pardon.
Suresh’s wife had initially agreed to do pardon him in return for a compensation of Rs.600,000 but now has sought Rs.1.5 million.
Chandy said:” I have again spoken to my friends in Kuwait and they have agreed to help. The team from here will remain in Cuddapah and the family of Suresh will sign the papers after the money is handed over. We are expecting that in the next few days all the papers would be ready to be sent to Kuwait.”