Duped Indians stranded in Saudi Arabia

Dubai, Sep 25 (UNI) A group of Indians who paid Rs one lakh to an agent for a job abroad have been stranded in Saudi Arabia, homeless and living on doles from charities in Riyadh.

The four workers say they were made to do jobs different from what they had been promised, housed on a building terrace, not paid, and finally evicted when they complained to the Indian mission against their sponsor.

Passports and other documents of the four workers, Ilyas Puthukkudipparamb, Manoj Kumar, Ratheesh Kumar and Mohammed Rafeeq were taken by the sponsor.

Radhakrishnan, the owner of the Golden Wings travel agency in Kozhikode, who would not provide his full name, said he has authorised his representative in Riyadh, a man he named only as Jayapal, to provide these workers with food and housing while he tries to persuade the Saudi sponsor to find alternative placements in supermarkets or hospitals as agreed back home.

Radhakrishnan said he would seek the help of TA EXPO Placement Services, the main recruiting agent in Mumbai for the resolution of the issue, the Arab News said.

The Indian embassy and the Saudi governmental Human Rights Commission (HRC) are scrutinising the case.

UNI XC RJ RK1115