Nithin Chandran given teary farewell

Kozhikode: A 28-year-old engineer who died in Dubai, hardly a month after he sent hispregnant wife to Kerala for her delivery amid the COVID-19 lockdown, was laid to rest at his home town here on Wednesday.

The body of Nithin Chandran was airlifted from Dubai to Kochi this morning and taken by road to Kozhikode.

Nithin, who had supported his pregnant wife Athira Geetha Sreedharan to file a petition in theSupreme court for early repatriation from the UAE during the coronavirus induced lockdown, had died on June 8 morning in his sleep, a day before a baby girl was born to the couple.

Nithin's body was brought to the hospital for a brief while to enable Athira to see him for the last time before it was taken to his home town at Perambra for the funeral which was held by noon.

According to his friends, he was under treatment for high blood pressure and a heart condition.

He was co-ordinator of Blood Donors in Dubai and member of the Indian Culture and Arts Society (INCAS).

Athira had managed to get a ticket on the first repatriation flight from Dubai to Kozhikode on May 7 after the Consul General of India in Dubai Vipul gave high priority to her as she would not be able to travel later as she was in an advanced stage of pregnancy.

Despite getting a ticket in the evacuation flight, NIthin stayed back in Dubai to facilitate conveyance of an ailing person.