‘Get back harrased worker from UAE’

TIRUCHY: Vivid images of a harried worker from India’s Tiruchirappalli district downloaded on ‘WhatsApp’ has come as tell-tale evidence for his family members to press for State action to bring him back home.

Ms. Arul Sundara Mary of N. Poolampatti village near Manaparai appealed to the Tiruchirappalli district collector K S Palanisamy to retrieve her husband working as a driver from a private firm at Saudi Arabia where he was being harassed at gunpoint.

In her petition to the collector, Mrs. Mary pointed out that 19 persons including her husband were sent to Saudi Arabia in July last by Chennai-based agent Gowri Sankar after he collected Rs 2.5 lakh, on a promise of a monthly salary of Rs 4000 Rials.

Her husband Xavier Nallathambi joined a private firm there as the driver of a water tanker. The firm owner, instead of paying a monthly salary 4000 Rials as promised, was only paying 700 Rials. When her husband questioned this, he was threatened. He was kept under house arrest and sometimes forced to kneel on the sands of the nearest desert in the hot sun. Food was also denied to him sometimes, she said. All this was recorded as images on WhatsApp, and she played the images to the district collector from her mobile.

Ms. Mary further requested the collector that besides retrieving her husband and others, the administration should also help in getting refund of the money from the Chennai travel agent. A similar complaint was made by Mrs. Elizabeth to retrieve her husband Manickam from Saudi Arabia.

The collector asked the district SP, Ms Rajeshwari to look into the matter.