Mangalore: Eight youngsters from Dakshina Kannada have been imprisoned in Jeddah jail of Saudi Arabia on charges of illegally passing and routing telephone calls, said T M Shahid, Member, Coir Board, Government of India.
Speaking at the Press Club on June 27, Wednesday, Mr. Shahid said that same cases have been registered against these youth by a Saudi Telecom company under four different files:

File No. 1: 1.Hussain Ahmed Kudroli    2.Yusuf Mohammed Shafi   3.Mohammed Ashraf (Amount demanded – 2 Million Saudi Riyals, which is Rs 3 crore as per Indian Currency)
File No. 2: 1.Nasir Mohammed     2.Faiz Ahmed    3.Riyaz Ahmed (Amount demanded – 3 Million Saudi Riyal, Rs 4.5 crore as per Indian Currency)
File No. 3: 1.Mohammed Ayub Kannoor  (Amount demanded – 80,000 Saudi Riyals, Rs 15 lakhs as per Indian Currency)
File No. 4: 1.Mohammed Sharif (Amount demanded – 1 Million Saudi Riyal, Rs 1.5 crore as per Indian Currency)
The families of these youth have already approached the central and state governments and various Saudi Arabian authorities including the Indian Consulate in Jeddah and Riyadh but so far none of their efforts have borne results, Mr.
Shahid said. They are now looking at a helping hand from donors for a solution, he said.

Mohammed Javed from Suratkal, brother of Mohammed Ashraf said that the Saudi telecom Company has imposed this huge amount s penalty on these youngsters. It is highly impossible for them to pay their amount. The parents have become week financially and psychologically few of them are hospitalized, where as few are under depression.

He also said that the condition of these youths is miserable and living in a cell where 400 people are imprisoned. The central government must show humanity and help them to release from the jail.

Speaking about the court, he said that court is happily willing to release them, but the telecom company is against this and asking the money for their release. These youths were kept for 40 days in jail at the beginning and physically tortured until they agree to their allegations. They have even destroyed their documents and claimed that they did not possess the passports. The parents have even written a letter in this regard to the king of Saudi six months ago.

Nasir Mohammed father A K Mohammed, Yusuf Mohammed Shafi’s son in law Farooq, Mohammed Sharif’s cousin P M Musthafa and others were present at the press meet.