By MANDEEP SINGH
Published: 11 April 2007
A MURDER investigation has now been launched into the death of an Indian man, who was found unconscious by police on July 31 last year.
Indian carpenter Surjit Singh Bedi, in his 50s, was in and out of a coma at the Salmaniya Medical Complex (SMC) until he died on February 23.
Kanoo Garden Sikh Temple president Rakesh Sharma said that police wanted to clear all doubts that he was not murdered.
He said since Mr Bedi, a chronic alcoholic, was found in “suspicious circumstances” with a head injury, police want to rule out foul play.
“It is likely that he may have fallen when he was under the influence of alcohol,” said Mr Sharma.
By MANDEEP SINGH
Published: 11 April 2007
A MURDER investigation has now been launched into the death of an Indian man, who was found unconscious by police on July 31 last year.
Indian carpenter Surjit Singh Bedi, in his 50s, was in and out of a coma at the Salmaniya Medical Complex (SMC) until he died on February 23.
Kanoo Garden Sikh Temple president Rakesh Sharma said that police wanted to clear all doubts that he was not murdered.
He said since Mr Bedi, a chronic alcoholic, was found in “suspicious circumstances” with a head injury, police want to rule out foul play.
“It is likely that he may have fallen when he was under the influence of alcohol,” said Mr Sharma.
Initially, authorities had waited in vain while he was in coma for the processing of his Indian citizenship papers by his family in Punjab for him to be repatriated home.
His body is now at the SMC morgue and community workers, who had since received the go-ahead from his family to be cremated in Bahrain, will now have to wait until the police decide whether Mr Bedi was murdered.
Unidentified
He lay in coma at the hospital for nearly three months under a nametag that had read “unknown” and remained unidentified after he regained consciousness on October 28 because he could not remember who he was.
A former colleague, John Mathews, later identified him on November 1 after he saw his picture in the GDN.
Since then, community workers, in co-ordination with the Indian embassy in Bahrain, had been trying in vain to complete formalities and obtain papers proving his Indian citizenship.
When Mr Bedi died, his only known relative, his sister Harwinder Kaur, sent a letter saying she had no objection he be cremated in Bahrain.
“We had made all arrangements for the cremation before we hit the snag,” said said Mr Sharma.
Mr Bedi had reportedly left home to search for a job in Bahrain almost 23 years ago and rarely contacted the family.
According to Mrs Kaur, the last letter he sent her was nearly 13 years ago when their mother died and he never called.
© Gulf Daily News