Hyderabad: Two families from Telangana are hoping for a Kerala-style miracle as they seek govt and public support to raise ‘diyah’ (blood money) to secure the return of their loved ones from Saudi Arabia.The families have approached the state govt through Pravasi Prajavani, seeking assistance for two men facing the consequences of separate accidents that resulted in the deaths of others.In 2024, businessmen, political outfits, social media influencers and expatriate groups came together to raise Rs 34 crore — the entire diyah amount — within weeks for Abdul Rahim, a native of Kozhikode, Kerala. The Saudi court revoked his death sentence after the victim’s family accepted the blood money and pardoned him. Rahim, however, still had to serve a 20-year prison sentence under the Public Rights Act. He completed the sentence in May 2026 and returned home days later.Suheeb, who is on death row at Al Zizia Jail in Riyadh, needs 5 million Saudi Riyals (about Rs 12.5 crore) in diyah to facilitate his release. Kummari Shravan Kumar, who is out on bail but faces a travel ban, needs a comparatively smaller amount. A Riyadh court has ordered him to pay Rs 84 lakh in diyah to the legal heirs of a Saudi couple who died in an accident for which he was held responsible.“There is no way we could pay Rs 12.5 crore. Even if we sell everything my husband and my family have, it will not cover even a fraction of the diyah amount,” said Suheeb’s wife, who returned to Hyderabad six months after her husband was arrested in the accident case.Suheeb, who had worked as an IT engineer in Riyadh for nearly 20 years, was arrested following a road accident on Jan 28, 2025, in which a Bangladeshi national died. He was subsequently sentenced to death by a Saudi court and has remained in jail since then.“I am a homemaker with three children and no income. I am trying to raise them by taking online tuition. All we request from the govt is support to get the death penalty revoked and bring my husband, who is diabetic and has high blood pressure, back to India,” she said. The family has appealed to a higher court in Saudi Arabia and is hoping for his acquittal.She said she was unaware of what had happened on the day of the accident.“My husband did not even mention the accident. After some time, a policeman came and said the person injured in an accident caused by my husband was in the ICU and took him away. He never came back. All his friends who were in the car escaped, and no one even bothered to check on us,” said the 43-year-old.Meanwhile, Nizamabad-based Shravan, too, is living in uncertainty in Saudi Arabia, unsure of what the future holds.“I am out on bail, but my iqama (Resident ID) has expired, so I cannot work legally. A travel ban has also been imposed on me, so I can’t come back. I am literally living on handouts or taking up simple tasks like washing utensils to survive. Back home, my wife and four-year-old son, who are surviving with the support of her parents, are running from pillar to post to somehow arrange the diyah amount,” Shravan told TOI on the phone from Saudi Arabia.A split-second decision to drive on the wrong side of the road for a few metres has changed Shravan’s life forever. He has been in Saudi Arabia since the accident on May 6, 2024.“I was driving an ambulance. We were going to see a patient and the doctor advised me to take the wrong route near the T-junction. But the move startled an incoming vehicle and resulted in an accident and the death of a Saudi couple. I regret taking the wrong route, but someone like me paying almost Rs 1 crore is next to impossible,” he said.Shravan was jailed for a month following the accident before being released on bail. However, the travel ban means he cannot return to India.The 39-year-old said he was living in fear. “I don’t know if my bail can be cancelled and I can be sent back to jail or whether the diyah amount can be reduced. The future looks bleak for us,” he said.Shravan’s wife, V Mamatha, a differently-abled woman, said it was heartening to see the Saudi govt fighting for the future of the legal heirs of the deceased.“But what about us? I am differently-abled and not in a position to do any work. My son is hardly four. When Kerala managed to raise Rs 34 crore, can’t the Telangana govt and public come to our rescue?” she asked, adding that she was not accusing anyone but hoping for a miracle that would bring her husband back home.
