The Indian killed in Jordan fell victim to a fraud for work, say the family

The family of an Indian who was shot while illegally transferred to Israel says he was a victim of a job fraud.

Thomas Gabriel Perera was killed by Jordanian security forces from the border with Israel on February 10th.

He was lured to Jordan with the promise of lucrative work, and when that did not come true, he tried to enter Israel, as he was told he could find a job there, his family told the BBC.

Reports on Indians who fall for employment fraud and illegal entry into other countries to seek a job are becoming more and more common.

The 47-year-old Perera was accompanied by his son-in-law Edison Charlas, who was wounded in the incident. Charlas was treated in hospital and spent two weeks in prison before being repatriated in India.

The two men were from the southern Indian state of Kerala, where they worked as drivers of auto-rick.

Agent had promised them that they could get jobs with blue collars in Jordan, earning 350,000 rupees ($ 4,000; 3110 British pounds) a month.

Charlas told the BBC that he had paid 210,000 rupees to an agent before leaving India and paid an additional $ 600 after reaching Jordan for a tourist visa.

But when the two men arrived in the capital of Jordan Aman in early February, the agent told them that there were no jobs available.

The agent then suggested that they try to move to Israel illegally, claiming that there were many opportunities there.

On February 10, Charlas and Perera joined a group that drove to Jordan with Israel for hours.

“We were taken in a car. It was a great distance. We got into the car at 2:00 pm and got to the place only around midnight. Then we were made a few kilometers along the coastline. It was while we were walking in the dark that we were shot,” said Charlas.

The BBC see a letter sent to the Perer family by the Indian Embassy in Jordan. It states that “the security forces tried to stop them, but they did not listen to the warning, the guards open fire on them.”

“A bullet struck d -N -Thomas (perera) in his head and he died on the spot.”

However, Charlas challenged this account and said “there is no such warning (from security). They just fired.”

“I went slowly behind the others in the dark … Then the bullet hit me and lost my mind. I had no idea what happened to Thomas,” he said.

The BBC asks the foreign affairs of India and the Jordanian authorities to comment on G -N Charlas' claim.

Charlas said he was later taken to a hospital for treatment and then moved between several Jordan government services before being transferred to prison, where he was held for 18 days.

While in prison, he managed to contact his wife and told her what had happened, and his wife contacted Indian Embassy officials.

Charlas was deported to India on February 28th.

Perer's body is still in Jordan. In response to BBC inquiries, India's Foreign Ministry said they were working to return the body to India as soon as possible.

“They tell me that it will take one or two days to complete the process of documentation and other things,” said Randhir Jasaval, a spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

On Monday, Shashi Tarur, a member of Parliament, representing Perer Tirwanantanpram's electoral district, said members of the Indian Embassy in Jordan had had check the victim's identity And that the process of transporting the body has begun.

Despite the numerous government warnings, many Indians still become prey to work fraud and take the risk of entering the countries illegally to find a job, observers say.

“The Operandi Mod is to receive a tourist visa for a country and then enter the neighboring country,” says Ajit Colsers, CEO of Norka, the Kerala Government Department, which controls migration.

“No country will accept illegal entry. We consistently issue people's advice to be careful about work missiles, but they are still going.”

In recent years, hundreds of Indians have been Saved by Cambodia Fraud Centers and other parts of Southeast Asia. They were trafficked at the centers after being lured abroad with promises of good jobs.

Dozens of Indian citizens were too Fraud to fight for Russia In the war with Ukraine, after they were offered counterfeit jobs and opportunities for training abroad.

100 Indians who were Deported from US last month After being accused of entering the country illegally, he was also lured by the hope of a better life, said Iruda Rajan, who chaired the International Institute for Migration and Development in Tirwanntapuram.

“They also paid money to the agents and were cheated. This is the struggle to get better salaries (that leads to it),” he said.

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