KOCHI: The mortal remains of Soumya Santhosh, the Malayali caretaker who died in a mortar shell attack at Ashkelon in Israel on May 11, will be brought to Kerala on Saturday.
An Israeli flight carrying the body took off from the country at 8.30 pm on Friday and is expected to reach Delhi airport by 4 am on Saturday.
Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan will receive the body at the Delhi airport. The body is expected to reach Kochi airport by a domestic flight at 5.20 pm. Idukki MP Dean Kuriakose will receive the body at the airport.
The body will reach the house of Soumya at Kanjiramthanam near Adimali in Idukki district at around 9 pm on Saturday. The funeral will be held at Keerithodu Nitya Sahaya Matha Church cemetery at 2 pm on Sunday.
Soumya, 30, was working as a caretaker at a house at Ashkelon in Israel -- that borders the Gaza strip. She had been working in Israel for the past seven years.
"The Israel government has been very helpful and has provided all possible help to ensure early repatriation of the body to India. The Israel authorities and Indian Embassy officials were in constant touch with me. They arranged a special flight to repatriate the body. The authorities have informed that delegation from the Israeli consulate will visit our house on Sunday to convey their condolences directly," said Soumya's sister-in-law Sherly Benny.