Bhaskaran Prabhakaran, 57, had been treated at King Fahd Hospital in Tabuk since March last year when he suffered a paralytic stroke while working at a construction site in Tabuk.

Following the intervention of Indian Consul General Faiz Ahmed Kidwai, Tabuk Gov. Prince Fahd bin Sultan waived hospital charges of SR250,000 owed by Prabhakaran so he could return home. Prabhakaran had been working as a mason in a construction firm in Tabuk.

Consul for Labor and Welfare at the Indian Consulate in Jeddah S.D. Moorthy told Arab News that the patient reached the airport in Kochi at 11 a.m. on Saturday and he was sent to a home for the elderly in Ernakulam since his family did not want to look after him. Prabhakaran is currently wheelchair-bound and cannot move freely without help.

Moorthy said it is customary for the consulate to inform the victim’s next-of-kin to look after his interests when he is back home. Moorthy said the patient has a wife and 22-year-old son.

“Unfortunately, his family did not want to accept him as he had not looked after them ever since he came to the Kingdom in 1995,” Moorthy said, adding that he had returned to his country like an orphan. However, the diplomat said the mission made its own arrangements with the government of Kerala to get him admitted him at a local hospital.

Moorthy said the Indian Consulate in Jeddah bore certain expenses including local transportation, airfare and other related expenses regarding repatriation. The consulate also sent an escort to look after the patient while he traveled home.

Moorthy took the opportunity to thank Prince Fahd. “If it were not for the timely action taken by the prince, the patient would have continued to stay in the hospital and accumulate hospital fees,” he said. He also thanked a group of social workers in Tabuk who helped Prabhakaran.