How Kerala Man's Second Attempt to Find a Job in Jordan Got Him Killed

'All I remember is a white flash and something hitting my left thigh,' the deceased man's brother-in-law recounted.

Kerala resident Thomas Gabriel Periera died on 10 February after being shot by Jordanian security forces in the country's Karak district. 

(Photo: Vibhushita Singh/The Quint)

It wasn't the first time Thomas Gabriel Periera had gone to Jordan in search of a job. In 2024, the 47-year-old resident of Kerala's Thumba village went with a group of 10 on tourist visas. The remaining nine got lucky. Periera not so much. He was forced to return from Jordan's Amman Airport due to anomalies in his visa.

He went again in February this year only to be allegedly killed by Jordanian security forces for illegally trying to cross over into Israel from the Jordan-Israel border. His body is yet to be sent back to India.

"All I remember is a white flash and something hitting my left thigh. Then I lost consciousness and opened my eyes in the hospital," says Edison, Periera's brother-in-law who was with him on the fateful night of 10 February.

Edison, 43, is currently in a Thiruvananthapuram hospital with a bullet wound and only came to know about Periera's death after returning to India.

'Owned Autorickshaws, Played Chess During Free Time'

Periera and Edison were autorickshaw drivers back in Thumba.

"They were always together as both owned autorickshaws. They would spend hours talking and playing chess at the Arattuvazhi auto stand in Thumba during their free time," Edison's mother Jelesthi tells The Quint.

However, they had trained in plumbing and wiring with hopes of landing a job in Jordan.

After the failed attempt last year, Biju, a fellow Keralite, had promised to help Periera try again, this time accompanied by Edison.

Thomas Gabriel Periera.

(Photo: Accessed by The Quint)

Biju was among the nine people who managed to enter the country on a tourist visa and secure a job as a plumber. Edison claims that they transferred Rs 5 lakh each – which they borrowed from a bank – to Biju's account to cover their travel and living expenses.

They arrived there by flight on 5 February and were given shelter in a building where other Indian workers, mostly Keralites, were staying.

'We Kept Telling Them We Had Valid Documents, But They Didn't Listen'

Edison told The Quint that on the night of 10 February, he, Periera, and three Sri Lankan nationals, including a guide, had set out on "a sightseeing expedition by car".

"We were in Jordan for the first time and depended solely on our guide," he said.

However, unbeknownst to them, they had stumbled close to the Jordan-Israel border and were confronted by a Jordanian Army patrolling team.

"They started screaming at us. We were frightened as we didn't know the language but kept trying to explain that we had valid Jordanian visas," Edison said.

While it has widely been reported that Edison and Periera were attempting to cross into Israel from Jordan illegally, Edison claims otherwise.

"We never wanted to go to Israel," he told The Quint. "I don't know why the security forces felt that we wanted to cross the border."

Amid a flurry of intense exchanges between the Sri Lankan guide and Jordanian security personnel, Edison suddenly heard bullets being fired. "I remember feeling something in my left thigh, after which I fell down and lost consciousness," he said.

When Edison woke up, he was at a Jordanian Army hospital.

Edison had earlier told some local media outlets that he and Periera were aiming to secure a job in Israel. When The Quint asked him about his earlier claims, he said that the reports had wrongly quoted him, and that they were aiming to find jobs in Jordan itself.

The Quint reached out to the Jordanian Border Police to cross-check Edison's claims that he and Periera were in fact not trying to cross the Jordan-Israel border. Their response is awaited.

'Suspect Biju is Part of Human Trafficking Racket'

Edison says that while he and Thomas had initially put their faith in their friend Biju, he now suspects that the latter had conspired to trap them by sending them to Israel.

"Biju had taken around Rs 90,000 from both Thomas and me apart from the Rs 5 lakh we had already given him. He said the money would be kept safe under his custody. This was just before he introduced us to the guide who took us on an expedition that night."

Edison

Upon his return to India, Edison tried calling Biju several times, but the phone had been switched off. The Quint tried reaching out to Biju as well, but his phone number remained unavailable.

"I will not protect Biju anymore," Edison says.

"I could never have imagined that things would take such an ugly turn and that I would lose my brother-in-law. I suspect that Biju is part of a human trafficking racket."

Edison

How Edison Managed to Return to India

While the incident occurred on 10 February, Periera's family was informed only last week by the Indian Embassy in Jordan that he had passed away.

Edison had no knowledge of what had happened to his brother-in-law. Once his condition improved, he was shifted to a prison in Jordan four days later.

Edison told The Quint that while the other members of his group are still in prison, he was able to come back to India with the help of local politicians.

"The Jordanian Police permitted me to make a phone call to my wife Mini in Thumba, and I explained the entire matter to her," he said.

His family then got in touch with Adoor Prakash, Congress MP from the Attingal constituency, who then took the matter to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). The Indian Embassy in Jordan then got in touch with the Jordanian authorities. Once Edison's documents were found to be in the correct order, they permitted him to go back to India.

He returned to Kerala on 26 February. It was only after coming back that the Indian Embassy in Jordan informed him that Periera had died of a bullet wound.

"Edison has been gloomy and exhausted ever since he came back from Jordan. The death of Thomas has shocked him greatly," added Jelesthi.

Meanwhile, the family has been engaged in trying to get Periera's mortal remains repatriated. "We have been trying to bring Thomas' body back from Jordan so that his last rites can be done in the proper manner," Edison told The Quint.

MP Prakash had also written a letter to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on 2 March, asking for his help in getting Periera's body repatriated.

"The family of the deceased is not in a position to bear the expense of transporting the mortal remains to India and is requesting financial assistance from the Indian mission. I request you to kindly give consent to the Indian embassy to provide financial assistance for the dispatch of mortal remains to India," the letter reads.

Congress MP Adoor Prakash's letter to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.

(Photo: Accessed by The Quint) 

Further, Edison said that BJP MP from Thrissur Suresh Gopi and former Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan had also assured them of help to bring the body back, but the family are skeptical.

"The Indian Embassy had intimated us that we will have to bear our own expenses to retrieve the body. We belong to the fishermen community and our families are not in a position to spend such a huge sum. Moreover, we are debt-ridden now," Edison told The Quint.

Meanwhile, the Indian Embassy in Jordan took to X on 2 March to say that they were working in close coordination with the Jordanian government for the repatriation of Periera's body.

"The Embassy has learnt of the sad demise of an Indian national in unfortunate circumstances. The Embassy is in touch with the family of the deceased and is working closely with Jordanian authorities for transportation of mortal remains of the deceased," they said.

The Quint has reached out to the Indian Embassy in Jordan to inquire about the incidents that unfolded on that ill-fated night and their efforts in getting Periera's body repatriated. Their response is awaited.

Similar cases have come to the fore in recent years, wherein Indians pay middlemen to help them secure a job overseas — only to lose their money or their life.

Francis (name changed), a 26-year-old graphic designer from Kerala's Thrissur, had earlier told The Quint how he paid nearly Rs 4 lakh to a now-defunct travel agency to help get a job in Croatia. He lost his money after the agency took him to Armenia instead. You can read his story here.

Even as multiple victims choose to report, many others don't. Edison confirmed to The Quint that he hadn't filed a report in the matter.