The 35 workers were brought to the Kingdom on stolen visas by an Indian man who is now in jail here.

R. Muraleedharan, president of the Federation of Kerala Associations in Saudi Arabia (Fokasa), a Riyadh-based NGO that works closely with the Indian Embassy, said that the Indian man, Shahul Hameed, is currently at Malaz prison after being convicted in separate cases of trading in alcohol and adultery.

“Shahul Hameed was the one who duped these workers,” said the Fokasa chief, adding that the repatriation of the workers was made possible because of the massive support of the Indian Embassy and the Saudi company whose visas were stolen by Hameed.

The workers came to the Kingdom having paid huge sums of money to Hameed’s agent in India with the promise of secure jobs and good salaries. However, on arriving in the Kingdom, the workers found no jobs and were left with huge debts that they incurred to pay the agent.

Muraleedharan offered his thanks to Al-Ahliah Est. for Trading for giving the workers documentation to return to India. The workers had been at Riyadh’s deportation center for quite some time.

Al-Ahliah Est. also paid penalties of SR1,360 per head imposed by the deportation center on the five workers — Jamaluddin Sajid, Abdul Lateef Subair Kutty, Nizam Jamal, Prasanna Kumar and Manikandan Nair.

Muraleedharan said he had also sent complaints to the police chief of Kerala requesting him to investigate and punish anyone else involved in the case.

He added that after arriving in the Kingdom in June 2008, the workers began searching for Hameed and then their sponsor.

The workers were then helped by a Fokasa representative called Thajudeen who took up the case, negotiated with the company and then sought support from the embassy to send the workers back to India.

Muraleedharan said that the Indian Embassy has given a certificate of appreciation to Abdulaziz Rasaini of Al-Ahlia Est. for the support and help.

There are approximately two million Indians living and working in Saudi Arabia. The country is home to around nine million foreign workers.