RIYADH, 10 September — There is still no trace of a young Indian woman who went missing in the Kingdom under mysterious circumstances about two years ago.
Shylamma Clarance, 31, arrived here on Jan. 13, 2001 to work as a housemaid at the home of a Saudi sponsor in Al-Kharj, about 80 km south of here. After some time, she disppeared abruptly, leaving no trace. Her sponsor, Khaled Hassan Yakuth Ali, does not entertain any communication from the woman’s relatives, nor does he respond to queries from the Indian Embassy, sources said.
The embassy and a host of Shylamma’s friends and relatives have been at pains to locate her but without success. Antony Varghese, a relative of Shylamma, has been pursuing the case with the embassy. According to him, Shylamma had exchanged a couple of letters with her husband, who lives in her home state Kerala, before she disappeared.
The Indian Embassy is in touch with the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs about the case but no progress has been reported. According to Varghese, complaints have also been sent to the Indian prime minister and the government of Kerala to pursue the case.
Tired of running from pillar to post, Shylamma’s impoverished family is, meanwhile, keeping its fingers crossed for any good news about its sole breadwinner.
Shylamma’s is not the only sob story that has come to light in recent times. The Indian Embassy has many such harrowing tales to tell of missing people, such as Reyazuddin of Howrah, Madhavan Nair of Kerala, Shamshad Shaikh of Maharasthra, Amir Ahmad of Rajasthan, Bega Ram of Rajsthan, S. A. Ghani of Tamil Nadu, Francis Pias of Karnataka and Stella Maryson of Kerala. Some of those reported missing are thought to be in hiding after their visas had run out. There are others who abscond from their sponsors in search of better jobs. Such people eventually surrender to local authorities or get caught by the police.
Meanwhile, Abdul Rahman, a 13-year-old Pakistani boy who went missing from Riyadh while on a pleasure ride on his motorbike on March 13, is still untraced as the tearful family keeps hoping against hope.
