The widow of an Indian driver who died in the Kingdom has asked that repatriation expenses be paid to her in cash by his sponsor and that his body be dealt with locally instead.

Repatriation and burial procedures for expats are a challenge for Asian diplomatic missions in general and India in particular, in addition to being burdensome for local authorities.

Thirty-three-year-old Tapan Kumar Mandal from West Bengal in India had worked as a driver with a Saudi family in a village near Riyadh for two years. He was diagnosed with tuberculosis and admitted to King Saud Hospital in Riyadh on Oct. 28, 2012, where he died two weeks later.

The sponsor had contacted the family in India to receive the body and to send over his paperwork, but family refused, instead demanding compensation for his death.

However, there are no provisions for compensation to due disease-related death and compensation can only be claimed for accidental death on the road or at work.

Joshna Mandal, his wife, insisted on being paid compensation for her husband’s death but the Indian Embassy in Riyadh explained that she would not be eligible.

According to sources, after realizing that she can’t claim compensation, she came forward with a plea to reimburse her with the money to be spent transporting the body back to India and bury him in the Kingdom instead. The sponsor accordingly paid her the money in India.

Touched by her plight, Indian Ambassador Hamid Ali Rao told officials to make arrangements for transporting the body back to India as a gesture of goodwill.

Mandal had sent a letter to the Indian Embassy requesting that her husband’s body be dealt with according to Hindu traditions after she had received payment from the Saudi sponsor.

The bodies of non-Muslims cannot be buried in the Kingdom according to rules and regulations.

Despite her demands, Mandal is no longer answering her phone.

Hospital authorities have since been putting pressure on the Indian Embassy to receive the body for repatriation, but officials are complacent since they now have instruction for cremation.

Morgues in Riyadh continue to experience grave overcrowding and blame foreign embassies for lagging behind in administrative procedures. Embassy officials, however, maintain that repatriation procedures take time.

Riyadh Governor Prince Khalid Bin Bandar has instructed officials to expedite the disposal of bodies and has also instructed holding weekly meetings to monitor the process.

Abdulaziz Salem, a senior official, has been appointed chairman of a committee established by Prince Khalid Bin Bandar to follow up on such matters.