93 bodies of Indians waiting to brought back: Government

NEW DELHI: 93 bodies of Indian nationals are lying in Saudi Arabia waiting to be sent to India, government told Rajya Sabha today.

Replying to a question, Minister of State for Overseas Indian Affairs V K Singh said 112 bodies of Indian nationals are still to be sent back from Emigration Check Required countries.

Besides Saudi Arabia, the other countries from where bodies are to be brought back to India include Oman, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Lebanon and Malaysia.

He said a total of 2,472 Indians died in Saudi Arabia in 2013, out of which bodies of 1,145 people were brought back to India while last rites of 1,326 were done in that country.

In 2014, 2,348 Indians died in Saudi Arabia, out of which bodies of 1,106 were brought to India.

According to the Emigration Act, 1983, Emigration Check Required (ECR) categories of Indian passport holders need to obtain 'Emigration Clearance' from the office of Protector of Emigrants (POE) for going to 18 countries.

The countries where ECR is mandatory include Iraq, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, Malaysia, Libya, Jordan, Yemen, Sudan, Brunei, Afghanistan, Indonesia and Syria.

Replying to a separate question, Singh said licenses of 24 recruiting agencies and agents were cancelled for violations of laid down norms.