Dubai: The rising Indo-Pak tensions has not deterred a Pakistani Quran teacher to come to the rescue of five stranded Indians in the UAE after they were duped by their respective travel agents. The Indian Consulate has informed that it'll do the needful to help the Indians by coordinating with the Labour Consul here.
The stranded Indians include Sivakumar(35) from Nagercoil in Tamil Nadu, Mohammed Yusuf (35) from Turunelveli, Muhammed Nazim Ali (23) from Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh, Ramzan (24) from UP and Rohit Chowdhury(25) from Kolkata in West Bengal.
Mohammed Usman and Sivakumar, had approached a travel agent Noor Mohammed to get a job overseas, pay their debts and come back home. They got in touch with the agent through an ad telecasted in a Tamil television channel in July, 2017. The ad promised a job in Australia for interested parties.
Initially, the duo were not supposed to go to the UAE. The travel agent asked both of them to pay Rs 200,000 each for the processing of their visas to Australia.
At first, they were provided with tickets to Thailand, telling them that their Australian visa would arrive soon. However, they were not allowed to enter Thailand as they did not meet the requirements for visa-on-arrival.
Stranded at the airport, the duo returned to India after making a distress call and asking their relatives to purchase return tickets for them.
After returning, Usman and Sivakumar asked the agent to return their money which was almost Rs 7,00,000 each, but the agent claimed that their visa to Australia was ready and travelling through the UAE was a better route.
When they reached the UAE, they were given accommodation in Ajman, one of the emirates of the UAE. The agent gave them Dh50 (Rs 979), left the country and never returned, the paper said.
They struggled in the UAE since and looked for job until Mohammed Asadullah, a Pakistani national, came to their rescue.
"We arrived here on May 1, expecting a better life. Now, we live in the cramped quarters of an old villa. We have overstayed for quite a long time and don't know what to do. We believed our travel agent, but he duped us," Usman said.
Asadullah, the Pakistani owner of the villa, where the duo have been staying, has not charged rent and gave them free food, Sivakumar said.
Tensions between India and Pakistan have soured since February 14 when a suicide bomber of Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Muhammed (JeM) killed 40 CRPF personnel in Kashmir's Pulwama district.
India bombed the biggest JeM training camp in Balakot, deep inside Pakistan on February 26. The next day, Pakistan Air Force retaliated and downed a MiG-21 in an aerial combat.
Indo-Pak relations dipped further after the Indian government revoked the special status of Jammu and Kashmir. Pakistan responded by downgrading diplomatic ties with New Delhi.
"Sharing my food with them is the least I could do. I have been asking my Indian friends to help these guys find a way out. Being an illegal resident is a crime in the UAE. And if they can sort that out faster, the better," Asadullah said.
Sivakumar is the sole hope for his paralysed mother, wife and tiny children. Muhammed Yusuf's situation is no better either. His ailing parents, wife and child awaits his arrival everyday.
Rohit, a mechanic who hails from Kolkata came to UAE in search of better prospects. He dropped his job at Samsung company in Noida and paid an agent named Wajid Rs 55,000 to reach the country.
Allahabad inhabitant Muhammed Nazim Ali refuses to go back to unscrupulous debtors even if the chance does aris. He had borrowed Rs 90,000 to reach the country and find a better job.
Meanwhile, the expats in UAE have been helping the stranded Indians with food and other essentials.
(With inputs from PTI.)
