An Indian man, who was allegedly shot dead by Jordanian soldiers when he was trying to cross into Israel illegally last month, was reportedly a victim of a job scam. Thomas Gabriel Perera and his brother-in-law Edison Charlas had tried to enter Israel after arriving in Jordan on a visitor visa on February 10, during which the former was killed.

Perera and Charlas were lured to Jordan on the promise of a blue-collar job with a salary of Rs 3,50,000 a month, reported BBC. They had paid Rs 2,10,000 to an agent before they left India and gave an additional Rs 52,289 ($600) after reaching Jordan on a tourist visa. However, when they reached Jordan’s capital city Amman in early February, the agent told them that there were no jobs available, the report said.

According to BBC, the agent then told the two Indian men that there were plenty job opportunities in Israel and suggested they should try crossing into the country illegally.

On February 10, when the two tried crossing the border, Jordanian soldiers shot them. While Perera died on the spot, Charlas survived. He was repatriated to India after receiving treatment.

The two men were residents of Kerala and reportedly worked as auto-rickshaw drivers.

Shortly after the incident, the Indian Embassy in Jordan said it had learnt of the “sad demise of an Indian national in unfortunate circumstances.”

“The Embassy is in touch with the family of the deceased and is working closely with Jordanian authorities for transportation of mortal remains of the deceased,” it said in a post on X.