Nepali worker buried in Iraq without family’s knowledge, decades-long repatriation failure

By the Editorial Team · Tuesday, July 28, 2026

Bimal BK, a Nepali migrant worker who died in Iraq in July 2025, was buried there without his family’s knowledge nearly 10 months later, despite ongoing efforts to repatriate his body. This case exposes critical failures in the coordination between employers, local representatives, and Nepali authorities, leaving the family without closure and raising urgent questions about the treatment of deceased migrant workers abroad.

The family of a Nepali migrant worker who died in Iraq last year was unaware that his body had been buried there until nearly 10 months later, highlighting significant shortcomings in the repatriation process.

Bimal BK, 33, from Sarangkot, Pokhara, passed away in Baghdad on July 27, 2025, after spending over two years working in the Iraqi capital. Despite months of attempts to have his remains returned to Nepal, his family only learned in May 2026 that his body had already been interred at Wadi al-Salam cemetery, approximately 300 kilometers from Baghdad.

The news came from Tika Bahadur BK, a fellow Nepali working in Baghdad and an authorised local representative appointed by the Nepali Embassy in Kuwait, which oversees consular affairs related to Iraq. Bahadur informed Bimal’s younger brother, Sujan BK, that Bimal was buried around two months prior, contradicting the family’s ongoing expectations that the body would be repatriated.

Bimal’s employer, Shmesani Restaurant in Baghdad, had communicated that Bimal died after falling ill. However, the official death certificate from Iraq’s Ministry of Health lists the cause as a heart attack. Sujan, who previously worked alongside Bimal at the restaurant before returning to Nepal, described the demanding work conditions, noting employees often worked 17 to 18 hours a day. He also revealed that Bimal suffered from chronic back problems and was advised to be admitted to a hospital during a medical check-up. According to Sujan, instead of hospitalisation, the company sent Bimal back to his room, where he died the same night.

The Nepali Embassy in Kuwait, which is responsible for Iraqi consular matters, lacks the capacity to operate regularly in Iraq and thus relies on local representatives like Tika Bahadur and lawyer Osama Hikmat Tamer to manage repatriation efforts. Both had been in contact with the employer and Iraqi authorities to facilitate the return of Bimal’s remains. Yet, the burial proceeded without notifying either representative or the family, leaving them uninformed about the timing or reasons for the burial.

Sujan described the prolonged wait as extremely painful, saying, “We had been waiting for my brother’s body to arrive. The company kept assuring us it would be sent. Then, all of a sudden, we were told that he had already been buried. It felt like the ground had disappeared beneath our feet.” He filed an application with Nepal’s Department of Consular Services last August requesting the return of his brother’s body and said that repeated inquiries yielded only vague assurances that the process was ongoing.

Nearly a year after Bimal’s death, his family remains without answers or closure. His elderly mother continues to wait in Nepal, unable to perform the last rites, while Sujan makes frequent trips to Kathmandu seeking updates on the repatriation process. The case raises concerns over the handling of migrant workers’ deaths abroad, coordination between employers, diplomatic representatives, and home authorities, and the protection of workers’ rights and dignity after death.

This article was reported by synthesizing coverage from multiple independent news outlets to present a balanced, unbiased account. Read about our editorial standards. Spotted an error? Let us know.