RIYADH, 14 March 2004 — Police are looking for an Indian salesman who his company claims has run away with SR563,667 in cash.
Christopher Devadas, a salesman, who had been working for Supreme Foods Company Limited for the past eight years, has been reported missing since March 5 with the cash from his sales.
Devadas, a former “Best Salesman of the Year,” hails from Pathanamthitta district in Kerala, where his wife and three children live.
The company employs some 500 Indian expatriates and more than 50 percent of them are from the south Indian state.
The incident has sent shockwaves through the company. “As Indians we feel awkward when a thing of this sort happens in the company,” a Keralite worker told Arab News.
The suspect reportedly sold goods at a discount to make as much money as possible in his last week at work. A senior manager at Supreme Foods told Arab News that Devadas, 33, was a hardworking salesman and had returned from his last vacation only two months ago.
He said that the missing money represented the man’s net sales turnover for 15 days.
The Passports Department has not been able to find Devadas in any of the Kingdom’s prisons.
The company has also sought the assistance of the Indian Embassy here.
An official from the embassy told Arab News a special section of the mission dealt with such complaints, but would not comment further.
The Kingdom does not have extradition treaty with India or its neighbors, home to most of Saudi Arabia’s expatriate workers.
