Muscat: An Indian expat working in Oman was sacked by his company after he posted messages insulting Kerala flood victims on social media.
The man, identified as Rahul Cheru Palayattu, worked as a cashier for a major supermarket chain in the GCC, and hails from Kerala, which has seen massive devastation due to the intense flooding across the state. The Indian Army and other national disaster and relief organisations are currently working to help the thousands of people who have lost homes and valuables due to the flooding.
He was found to have replied to a post on Facebook with an insulting response, on which a well-wisher had asked if personal hygiene items were required.
His comments received plenty of backlash from the online community, who slammed him for his insensitivity and lack of empathy towards his fellow Keralites.
Following this post, a letter from his company’s HR manager — that was also posted online — informed him about his sacking.
“This is to inform you that we have terminated you from services with immediate effect because of your highly insensitive and derogatory comments on social media with regard to the current flood situation in Kerala, India,” a letter by the company’s HR Manager in Oman stated.
“You are hereby instructed to handover all your official responsibilities to your reporting manager immediately and to contact the accounts department for your final settlement,” the letter added.
However, Rahul had attempted to apologise for his insensitive behaviour. In a live video posted to Facebook, he admitted that he’d been under the influence of intoxicating substances that made him forget his inhibitions.
He said, in this video: “I apologise to everyone in Kerala. Because of my foolishness, a mistake happened on my behalf. I request everyone to forgive me. After that comment, my friends and others have been abusing me on Facebook.
More than 370 people have been killed and nearly 750,000 people evacuated to relief camps, in what is Kerala’s worst ever flood disaster in a century. More than 5,500 camps have been set up for people, and the state’s Chief Minister has called for donations of cash and other goods to help those affected by the floods.