3 bodies of NRIs earlier returned arrive in Delhi, handed over to kin

Bodies of three Indians were handed over to their families after their arrival at the Delhi Airport from the United Arab Emirates early Monday morning, four days after they were sent back from the airport due to coronavirus-related restrictions in place.

Bodies of three Indians were handed over to their families after their arrival at the Delhi Airport from the United Arab Emirates early Monday morning, four days after they had to be sent back from the airport due to coronavirus-related restrictions in place.

Recently, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to intervene in bringing back mortal remains of those Indians who died in the Gulf countries of reasons other than COVID-19 infection.

"In the early morning today, three bodies arrived from the UAE at the Delhi Airport by Etihad Airways and got clearance from concerned authorities. The bodies were then handed over to their families of the deceased," an airport official told to .

On Friday, the bodies had to be sent back from New Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport to UAE due to coronavirus-related restrictions and lack of necessary documentation.

Vijayan, in his letter to the prime minister, had asked for the repatriation process for cadavers to be expedited.

"It is learnt that a 'clearance certificate' from the Indian Embassies is required to process the application of bringing home the mortal remains of the dead. The Embassies are insisting on the production of a no-objection certificate from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), New Delhi," the Kerala Chief Minister wrote.

Following Vijayan's letter, the Ministry of Home Affairs on April 23 issued a clarification approving the arrival of bodies and mortal remains of non-residential Indians.

Ministry said that the expartriation of the bodies have been subjected to strict adherence to the guidelines and instructions issued by various ministries and government departments related to lockdown measures. The submission of no objection certificate and approval from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare as well as the Ministry of External Affairs is mandatory in this regard, it added.

The deaths of the three expats, two from Punjab and one from Uttarakhand, were not related to Covid-19.

( With inputs from ANI )