Chicago – March 04, 2025
Jordanian security forces shot dead an Indian man trying to cross illegally into Israel, a letter sent to his family by the country’s embassy in Amman said.
Thomas Gabriel Perera, 47, from Thumba in the southern Indian state of Kerala, was in a group of four people who had travelled to Jordan on tourist visas on 5 February.
Perera and his companion Edison, 43, also from Thumba, were autorickshaw drivers. They had allegedly been promised jobs in Israel with a monthly salary of Rs350,000 (£3,180) by a fellow Indian working in Jordan.
Mr Edison said they paid that person Rs 210,000 (£1,908) upfront and were supposed to pay Rs 50,000 (£454) every month upon securing work.
“Thomas and another person were trying to cross the Jordan border at Karkak district illegally” on the night 10 February, quoted the embassy’s letter as stating. “The security forces tried to stop them, but they did not listen to the warning. The guards opened fire on them. One bullet hit Thomas in his head and he died on the spot. Later, his body was sent to a local hospital,” the report said.
Mr Edison, who sustained injuries and regained consciousness days later in a Jordanian medical facility, subsequently faced legal proceedings, and was deported to India on 28 February.
