RIYADH: Othman Jadeeya Alkhaibary, the father of a Saudi man who was killed in a road accident in April, pardoned the Indian water-truck driver who was found responsible for the death and waived the SR120,000 diyyah (blood money) demand.
Hemraj Moriya, age unknown, from Utter Pradesh was found 100 percent responsible for the accident in Al-Kharj that took the life of Othman Majed Othman, 22.
A court ordered Moriya to pay SR120,000 in blood money and SR40,000 for the damaged vehicle.
Moriya still faces the SR40,000 repayment before he can be released from jail. The Indian community in Al-Kharj is working to help raise the funds.
Moriya was driving a water truck without a Saudi driver’s license when he crashed into the vehicle driven by Majed Othman, who died on the spot.
Saad Al-Salim Al-Dosary, Moriya’s sponsor, refused to negotiate with Alkhaibary. Moriya claims that Al-Salim habitually uses lorry drivers who do not have Saudi licenses. A Saudi driver’s license is necessary for the driver to be insured; insurance includes diyyah coverage.
Local Indian community activists and the Federation of Keralite Associations successfully convinced the father to forego the blood money on the grounds of human sympathy in the name of Allah. The father of the deceased said in court that his son’s death was a divine order and Almighty Allah recalled him according to his “qadar” (destiny).
In accordance with the court order, the father said he still expected the SR40,000 since the car belonged to his wife and mother of the deceased.
Alkhaibary lives in Dahal Mahdood (near Badiya at Exit 30) and works for the Royal Saudi Naval Forces.
He and his wife, Haleema Farah Sayyed Mohammed, have three daughters and two living sons.
Moriya has been in the Kingdom for the past six months. His wife, Pushpa Devi, lives in Rae Bareli, Uttar Pradesh, and the couple have four children: Shilpa, 10, Shivani, 8, Anood, 5, and Amith, 1.
