Killing of two Telangana men in Dubai bread factory rattles state's migrant community

Lakhs of migrant workers from north Telangana region sail to the Gulf countries, often seen as a land of opportunity for the rural poor in this part of the region. However, for the family members of Premsagar of Nirmal district and Srinivas of Nizamabad district, it ended in a tragedy robbing them off their breadwinners in a ghastly manner. Both the Telugu workers were killed at a bread company by a colleague from Pakistan. All three were tasked with slicing the bread into loaves. 

 

According to the preliminary information, the accused attacked both, Premsagar and Srinivas with one of the sharp knives used to cut the bread. The reasons behind the attack are still unclear as multiple versions are doing the rounds on news and social media. According to a source in the migrant workers' community in Dubai, the accused who is a Pakistani was mentally unstable and had anger issues because of which he attacked both the workers and injured another one without any provocation. Though the deadly incident occurred last Friday, the news reached the family late.  

 

Soon after the attack, another Telugu worker from the bread company sent voice notes to his friends and family back home in panic. He had allegedly pointed to a communal angle implying that the two men were killed because they were Hindus and subscribed to a political party which offended the accused and his gang. 

 

Dubai has not put out any official press release related to the incident. The families of both the deceased back home are inconsolable. Premsagar had two daughters and a wife and he was the sole breadwinner. Even his brother and his family were dependent on him to some extent. Srinivas’s story too is more or less the same. 

 

The two union ministers from Telangana, Bandi Sanjay and G. Kishan Reddy, have reacted on the issue and have reached out to the concerned authorities to speed up the process of repatriating the bodies to India. It has been learnt that the mortal remains will most likely reach Hyderabad on Saturday at the earliest.  

 

Though there is no official confirmation on the status of the accused, it is believed that he is in the custody of Dubai law enforcement authorities. 

 

“In labour camps in Gulf countries like Dubai, it is common for workers from various nationalities to stay together. They have minor fights or arguments on various issues. We hear of such clashes which are resolved soon. But this is a rare incident which led to murders,” said Swadesh Parkipandla, member, the Gulf Workers Welfare Advisory Committee, Telangana. 

India