RIYADH, 17 July 2006 — Saudi police have arrested an Indian couple on the charges of their complicity in the murder of a Nepalese housemaid, who fled from the couple’s house a few days back.
Roy Thomas, an employee of Saudi Binladen Co., and his wife Biji Thomas, a hospital nurse, have been detained, after the maid’s body was found by the police in a mysterious condition last fortnight, said diplomats and Tomas’ friends, here yesterday.
Friends and relatives of Thomas, however, strongly refuse the involvement of the couple in the grisly crime. “The Indian Embassy has sent a letter to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, seeking more information about the case with a motive to help Thomas and his wife,” said P. Balachandran, second secretary at the Indian Embassy, here yesterday. The embassy is also seeking consular access to the imprisoned couple. Moreover, the details of the case are still not available.
But, Thomas, currently in Ummul Hammam Prison, and his wife detained at Malaz Women’s Jail, are being accused of killing the maid, while the investigations are under way. The Indian mission has also received an official letter from E. Ahamed, Indian minister of state for foreign affairs, and Sabastian Paul, a member of Parliament, asking the mission to intervene in the case and help the couple, according to embassy sources. Two little kids of Thomas, who are18-month-old twins, are currently staying with a family known to the couple.
The alleged murder came to light when police rushed to Thomas’ house and detained them last fortnight. The couple hired the runaway Nepalese maid some eight months back. But, she again ran away from Thomas’ house with the couple’s cell phone and some keys last fortnight. Thomas has, since then, informed the Saudi Telecom about the theft of his mobile.
According to family sources, the police found the body of the maid next day. “Immediately after that, the police came and picked up the couple, but later released the wife of Thomas,” said a family source, adding that she was again arrested by the police, possibly last week. Though, the murder of any worker is a grisly crime, this time it has put the spotlight on the vulnerability of illegal workers or runaway maids, who are sometimes hired by Saudi and expatriate families.
The complicity of Thomas in this murder case has been categorically rejected by his friends and family members and, hence, how the crime was committed and what was the motive behind the crime are also yet to be established. Arab News tried to reach the Nepalese Embassy also to know the other side of the story, but could not find any diplomat yesterday afternoon. Whatever the case may be, the brutal murder has shocked the couple’s neighbors as well as Indian and Nepalese families living in Riyadh.
