Shiju is still a little dazed from all that has happened in the last two months. Sitting in his room in Abu Dhabi on Friday morning, he tries to make sense of it all even as he fields questions from reporters. Less than 24 hours ago, he was released from a prison in Abu Dhabi, where he was lodged after his arrest on June 18 on charges of drug trafficking. He had returned to Abu Dhabi from Kochi when Immigration officials at the airport found a packet of lysergic acid diethylamide in his luggage.
“I didn’t understand why they were arresting me. I don’t speak Arabic either so I was completely clueless,” said Shiju. He only knew that the officials had found contraband drugs in a package given to him by a man named Amal. “He told me it was a jacket for his friend in Abu Dhabi. But when they opened it was a shirt, with something wrapped in a polythene cover inside it,” said the 29-year-old fabrication worker.
While Shiju was in prison, his friends and family back home in Pizhala were trying to prove his innocence and get him released. “He came home on May 31 to attend our father’s funeral,” said Shiju’s brother Joshy. Their father Manuel, 64, supported the family cleaning and selling prawns near Pizhala. Manuel fell into the waters near the Edayakkunnam bridge and lost his life on May 30. The family was still recovering from the trauma of Manuel’s sudden demise when Shiju was arrested. Joshy went to the local police soon after he heard of the arrest.
The Aluva police arrested four persons – Amal, Sarang, Muhammad Saad, and Thoppil Ansar – who were allegedly responsible for buying LSD and sending it abroad through Shiju. From the statements of the accused, police concluded that Shiju was innocent. Joshy and the ‘Save Shiju Action Council,’ a group of well-wishers, met Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, who was in the city on Wednesday on his way to New Delhi and handed over relevant papers. Mr. Chandy met External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and spoke to officials of the Indian Embassy as well.
“I’m happy to hear that Shiju, who fell into a trap laid by the drugs lobby, got the justice he deserved,” Mr. Chandy said in a statement.
But the battle is far from over for Shiju. He hasn’t been released from the case entirely yet. His passport and other documents are still with the Abu Dhabi police.
Accused gets bail
One of the accused in the case relating to sending of LSD to Abu Dhabi through Pizhala resident Shiju was granted bail by the Ernakulam District Court in Kochi on Friday.
Amal, 21, of Cheranellore, was arrested last month on the charge that he had handed over the packet of LSD with which Shiju was detained in Abu Dhabi. The police submitted that they had completed interrogating Amal and his custody was not necessary any further. The court ordered Amal to furnish a bond of Rs.20,000 and two solvent sureties. He has been ordered to appear before the investigating officer twice a week and whenever necessary.
