S. D. Moorthy, consul welfare at the Indian consulate in Jeddah, said the authorities at King Khalid Hospital in Najran had informed the consulate that the worker, 26-year-old Rajinder, had been hit by a fast moving car while he was crossing a street in Najran. The police tracked down the hit-and-run driver, who was a Saudi youth aged 22, and have remanded him until the inquiry is over.

Rajinder went from Riyadh to Najran because his company had won a new construction contract in that part of the Kingdom. He had the accident on Jan. 5 at 7 in the morning.

According to hospital doctors, Rajinder showed good signs of improvement at night on Monday. “From the Intensive Care Unit, Rajinder was transferred to the general ward on Monday night, since he opened his eyes indicating signs of further improvement in his health condition,” Moorthy said.

“We contacted the family of the deceased to make the repatriation arrangements. In deference to their wishes, the body will be sent to India,” the diplomat said.

Regarding the compensation for the family of the deceased, Moorthy said he was in touch with Rajinder's sponsor, M/s Zuhra Khudair Trading Establishment in Riyadh, and they had promised to cooperate with the mission to make the final arrangements regarding the dispatch of the body home and to finalize the compensation payment due to the victim.

Dwelling on the fate of the Saudi driver detained by the police, Moorthy said he could not comment on this, since the authorities are still conducting their inquiry into the case. However, he added that the police had to conclude their case for the mission to take further action in the matter.

Rajinder is from Medipalli village in the Karim Nagar district of Andhra Pradesh. He has been working as a laborer for the company for the past 12 months. He was sent to Najran along with four others to work in a new construction site assigned by his company.