PATHANAMTHITTA: Members of the Charuvel family were looking forward to the arrival of Sajan Mathew (Saji) from the United States. The 55-year-old had promised his family members and friends at Kalappamannil Padi, Cherukole, in Kozhenchery that he — along with his wife and two children — would visit them this December.
On Thursday morning, however, the news they received was tragic: Sajan was reportedly shot dead during a robbery at his shop in Mesquite, Texas, on Wednesday afternoon (US time).
“All of us are in shock and lost for words. We can’t believe that he is no more. Early morning today, I received a phone call informing me that my brother has died and his body has been shifted to the morgue of a hospital. We don’t know other details,” said John Mathew, his elder brother.
Shooting at beauty store killed Sajan
According to media reports, the shooting happened at Sajan’s beauty supply store in a shopping mall in the 1800 block of North Galloway Avenue. He is the younger son of the late C P Mathew and Saramma. After completing a pharmacy course i n Shimoga, he left for Kuwait aged 23. He married Mini, a Tiruvalla native, and they have two daughters Feba, 23, and Aleena, 19.
The family left Kuwait for the US in 2005. “His elder daughter’s marriage was held two months ago. Sajan and his friends had been running the shop in Texas for the past six years,” said John. Sajan had last visited Kozhenchery on June 24, 2019, when their father died, his brother said. “He was with us for two or three weeks. I had taken care of the construction of his house, near my house, in 2014. After the Covid outbreak, they couldn’t come here,” said John.