The suggestion of offering blood money to the family of Mishri Khan, who was allegedly murdered in a clash between group of Indian workers and Pakistani workers more than a year ago, has divided vertically the Indian community here.

“This is no stage to talk about blood money. We have a strong case and are confident of sending back home these boys as innocents,” believes the team of lawyers defending Indian boys in the case.

Similar sentiments were expressed by the Sharjah Singh Sabha -- an organisation that has been representing the Punjabi community in Sharjah since 1984 -- and a special delegation of the Sikh community of Leicester that comprises a former Member of British Parliament, Secretary-General of the Indian Workers Association of England and a nominee of the eight Sikh Gurdwaras of Leicester.

Those supporting the idea of an out-of-court settlement through payment of blood money argue that instead of allowing these 17 boys to languish in the jail here, it would be better to get them out as soon as possible.

They maintain that the litigations in the court before a mercy petition is made to the Sheikh of the UAE is decided will take a couple of years. They argue that most of them will have at best a reduced sentence.

Bindu S. Chettur, a member of the team of lawyers defending Indian boys, however, says: “It is ridiculous to suggest that the case will take that long. It may take another five to six months before the Appeal Court gives its verdict. If need be, we have the option to move the Supreme Court where the case would be decided by the federal law and not the Sharia law.”

Those who have been following courts here maintain that normally adjournments are made for shorter periods and cases are quickly and judiciously decided.

Talk of blood money, feels Chettur, weakens the case. “We have a very strong and irrefutable defence. It is no stage to reveal our defence,” she maintains. “Even if blood money has to be paid, it will come up much later”.

Former Liberal MP from the United Kingdom P.S. Gill also opposes the idea of blood money. “Natural and fair justice must prevail. We are here to assess what is happening and how an effective defence could be organised to get these boys and other Indian boys a fair deal. We do not support any criminal elements but at the same time innocents should not be made to bear the brunt for lack of back-up support,” he declared. Interestingly, there has been no demand from the family of the deceased for blood money. On the other hand, families of the convicts back home have made it clear that they are opposed to the idea of settlement through payment of blood money.

Their argument stems from their claim that their boys are innocent and have been wrongly implicated, convicted and sentenced. Like the Leicester group, they demand a fair trial and natural justice. On Wednesday when the Appeal Court of Sharjah was holding its hearing in the case, families of some of these Indian boys had gathered at the residence of Rana Gurmit Singh Sodhi, a Congress MLA, to get an update on the case. There are several groups which have been allegedly accused of collecting money to be paid to the family of the deceased as blood money.

Those opposing the blood money allege that some individuals or organisations even collected the money but did not pay anything to anyone. The Singh sabha of Sharjah claims that one organisation was paying Rs 2,500 a month to the families of the boys facing the death sentence. The veracity of this claim is still to be established.