UAE: Indian businessman pays Dh500k to save man on death row

It is quite literally a second lease of life for Becks Krishnan. The Indian expat, who was on death row in the UAE for causing the death of a young boy in a road accident, can finally see the outside of a jail cell following the intervention of NRI businessman M.A. Yusuff Ali.

The 45-year-old had been languishing in jail awaiting capital punishment with all hopes quashed. But he got a second lease of life, thanks to the efforts of Yusuff Ali, chairman of Lulu Group.

Krishnan was sentenced to death by the UAE Supreme Court after he was found guilty of causing the death of a young boy. He had rammed his car into a group of kids in September 2012.

Ever since, his family and friends have been relentlessly trying for Krishnan's release without any success, especially as the victim's family had already gone back and settled in Sudan, putting an end to any kind of discussion or pardon.

As a last attempt, the Krishnan family approached Yusuff Ali, who went about getting the details of the case and got in touch with all stakeholders. At one point, Yusuff Ali flew down the victim's family from Sudan to Abu Dhabi for a month and held extensive discussions to arrive at a compensation amount and secure pardon for Krishnan.

Ultimately, in January this year, the victim's family agreed to pardon Krishnan, and Yusuff Ali paid Dh500,000 as compensation in the court to secure the early release.

• Dubai