Over 1 yr after paying Rs 2-cr blood money, Muktsar man to return from Saudi Arabia

Archit Watts

Muktsar, September 7

The wait of 36-year-old Balwinder Singh’s family, which had been waiting for his safe return from Saudi Arabia for years now, is finally going to come to an end. Balwinder, a native of Mallan village in Gidderbaha here, had gone to work in Saudi Arabia in 2008.

He had killed a Saudi man there during a brawl in 2013, for which he was given seven years in jail. Later, a court told him to pay Rs 2 crore blood money to the deceased’s family or face beheading.

In May last, his family managed to arrange the amount in charity and paid it to the Saudi government. The money was accepted by a court and Balwinder was released from a jail in Riyadh and shifted to a kotwali, the family said.

“Balwinder was not released for 16 months. We got a call from him only today that he was being released and sent back to India. We are thankful to everyone who prayed or contributed money for his safe return. We are grateful to SPS Oberoi, who helped us a lot and even gave Rs 20 lakh in charity,” said Balwinder’s cousin Hardeep Singh. He added: “Balwinder is expected to reach Delhi in the midnight. From there, he will take a flight to Amritsar and reach there in the wee hours on Friday morning. We are leaving for Amritsar today to receive him.”