Dubai, July 2 (IANS) Hundreds of workers of a Bahraini contracting and construction company have returned to work after the company assured them it would investigate the cause of the death of an Indian worker while in police custody. Vinod Kumar, 32, allegedly committed suicide June 28 while in police custody two days after his scheduled return to India was stalled due to delay in paperwork.

Citing the conflicting reports about the cause of Kumar’s death and demanding an investigation into the case, his compatriot workers stayed away from work Monday.

A spokesman for the workers of the Ahmed Mansoor Al A’ali company told the local media that the company had pledged to look into all their grievances.

“They have also assured us that a fair amount of compensation would be paid to Vinod Kumar’s family,” the spokesman told the Gulf Daily News.

“We are reasonably convinced at the police’s version of his death,” the spokesman added.

The Bahrain Human Rights Watch Society (BHRWS) also demanded an open investigation into the death of Kumar.

Kumar was found wandering in a dazed state June 27 in a Bahrain locality, a day before his scheduled departure to India. His friends said he even called up some of them, saying that he wanted to commit suicide. Later, they came to know that the police had taken him into custody.

Reports said Kumar was detained at the Riffa police station for his own safety as he had tried to commit suicide by making a dash through moving traffic June 25. That was the first of the three reported suicide attempts he made.

After he reportedly choked himself with a piece of cloth June 28 in his cell at the police station, he was taken to the BDF Hospital where he died four hours later.

Hussain Al Nasser, administration manager at Ahmed Mansoor Al A’ali, said the company would take all possible steps to suitably compensate Kumar’s family, the newspaper report said.

He added that a delay in processing Kumar’s repatriation papers had stalled his return, even though the company had made all arrangements to fly him out.

Kumar, who hailed from Kozhikode in Kerala, leaves behind his mother, wife and an 18-month-old son.