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Body of Indian mum of three, who died while visiting UAE, repatriated after 30 days
As she died while on a visit visa, there was no one who took the responsibility to fly her body home
- PUBLISHED: Tue 7 Apr 2026, 4:20 PM UPDATED: Tue 7 Apr 2026, 6:53 PM
The body of an Indian woman, which was in a UAE mortuary for over a month, has been repatriated after help from the local community.
The body of 31-year-old SKJ, hailing from the southern Indian state of Kerala, was sent home on April 6 after the funds needed for the procedure were donated and she was buried on Tuesday morning.
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“It was a relief to put her to rest after an ordeal to get her body home,” her husband told Khaleej Times. “Her body was bathed and then buried in her hometown in Fort Kochi right next to her father who died a few months ago.”
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The mother-of-three had been in the UAE for 45 days, when the tragedy struck. “She was in Kuwait Hospital for a week,” her husband said. “She had initially worked for a daycare center and returned to India about three or four months ago. But she wanted a better job opportunity, and she went back to Dubai on a visit visa to look for one.”
He said that he broke the news to his three children, aged 10, 8 and 5, who were heartbroken. As she died while on a visit visa, there was no one who took the responsibility to fly her body home. Her husband, who works as a daily wage laborer in Kerala was not able to afford the expenses. The family then approached a politician who activated local social workers in the UAE to help.
According to a Dubai-based entrepreneur who donated the funds required to repatriate the body, the incident came to light when an Indian politician alerted him to it. Salam Papinassery said that the situation of the war exacerbated the family’s difficulties.
“The soaring ticket charges due to flight cancellations made it impossible for the family to afford to fly her body back to India,” he said. “They approached Kerala opposition leader V.D. Satheeshan who then informed me about it.”
Salam, who is the CEO of Sharjah-based firm YAB legal, then took care of all the necessary steps to repatriate the body of SKJ back home. Her body was sent home on Monday evening.
