NBTC MD says company is 'so sorry'; promises Rs 8 lakh plus 4 years' salary to every victim's family
Kuwait Fire
Kochi, Jun 15: K G Abraham, MD of Kuwait-based NBTC Group, whose workers died in the fire accident in one of its accommodations in the Gulf nation, on Saturday said the incident was unfortunate, and the company will take care of the victims' families.
Addressing the media here after three days of the tragic fire that killed 49 people, Abraham became emotional and said "we are so sorry".
"We are so sorry. I was crying in my house. I know most of them. There were people working with us for more than 27 years. What happened was really unfortunate," he said.
Abraham said that his company directors and managers are currently visiting each and every family member of the deceased and are expressing their grief.
"This was not any mistake on our part, but still we will take responsibility. They were living and working with us. They built the company. They are our family," Abraham said.
He said discussions were going on with the Embassies for the process of disbursing the compensation.
"We will soon disperse Rs eight lakh as compensation and they will also receive the company insurance amount. We are concerned about the families and will support them and provide jobs," he added.
Abraham also dismissed the allegations that the building was overcrowded.
He said the leased building had 24 apartments with three bedrooms each and there were only around 160 employees housed there.
"As per the reports there, the incident happened due to a short-circuit in the security guard's room on the ground floor. There was no gas explosion as some claimed. There was no cooking in the building," he said.
Abraham said the building was not that old and the accommodation and food for its employees were free.
He said as the deaths occurred due to an accident, the victims' families would receive an insurance amount worth four years' salary.
NBTC had earlier in a statement said it was greatly "shocked and saddened by the tragic incident" in one of its residential accommodations at Mangaf in Kuwait.
The building in Kuwait that caught fire killed 49 people on June 12. Currently, 40 people are under treatment.
Abraham, a prominent businessman from Niranam in Pathanamthitta district is a partner and managing director of the NBTC group.
According to the Central Travancore Chamber of Commerce and Industry website, NBTC is the biggest construction group in Kuwait.
It also said that Abraham is the chairman of Crowne Plaza, Kochi which is a five-star category hotel.
He is the founder and chairman of KGA Group which owns the prominent five-star property in Kochi among other establishments.
Abraham is also into movie production and recently co-produced a Malayalam survival drama 'Adujeevitham' (Goat Life) which narrates the life of an Indian migrant worker in a Gulf nation.
Established in 1977, NBTC is into engineering and construction, fabrication and machining, technical services, heavy equipment leasing, logistics, hotel, and retailing.
Apart from the company's assistance, the Kerala government had announced an amount of Rs five lakh each to the families of the deceased persons from the state.
The Central government has also announced financial assistance of Rs two lakh to the families of the deceased.
Prominent business houses have also announced financial aid to bereaved families.
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I-T Department sends notice to actor-director Prithviraj Sukumaran over co-produced films
New Delhi: The Income Tax (I-T) Department has sent a notice to actor and director Prithviraj Sukumaran asking for more details about the money he earned from some films he co-produced. The notice was reportedly served during the last week of March by the I-T office in Kochi. He has been asked to respond by the end of April.
The department is seeking clarification on the income from a few movies Prithviraj was involved in as a co-producer. This comes at a time when the actor has been receiving criticism from right-wing groups over what seemed to be references to the 2002 Gujarat riots in his latest film L2: Empuraan, starring Mohanlal, which released on March 27.
On April 4, 2025, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) carried out searches at the offices of Gokulam Gopalan, a Kerala-based businessman and one of the producers of L2: Empuraan, along with a few others. These searches were part of an investigation into alleged violations of foreign exchange rules.
The I-T notice to Prithviraj is believed to be linked to an ongoing investigation that began in December 2022 into suspected tax evasion within the Malayalam film industry.
At the time, tax officials had raided the homes and offices of several producers, including Antony Perumbavoor, Anto Joseph, and Listin Stephen, over concerns about unreported income, cash deals, and overseas investments. Prithviraj’s premises were also searched during that operation.
