The Central and State intelligence officials quizzed two Saudi nationals in Tiruchi on Monday after one of them visited a few power stations in the city and on its outskirts in the late hours on Saturday creating suspicion of his activities.
The two, Rasheed and Rahman, hailing from Buraydah in Saudi Arabia had landed in Kochi on August 14 on a tourist visa and came to Tiruchi on August 22.
Sources told The Hindu that Rahman who was employed in a power company in Saudi Arabia had come to Tiruchi to recruit some technical personnel for his company using a local recruiting agency.
Rasheed was a relative of Rahman.
Staying in a star hotel in the city, Rahman went out in the late hours on Saturday from the hotel and engaged a private cab visiting the power stations in Thennur, Pirattiyur, and Manikandam. The security staff at Manikandam on suspicion alerted the police regarding the visit of a foreigner to the power station in the odd hours.
Rahman did not enter the power stations and approached the security staff posted there, the sources said.
Upon receipt of information that the Saudi nationals were staying in the hotel, State and Central intelligence officials conducted detailed inquiries from the late hours on Sunday to early hours on Monday with the two regarding the midnight visit to the power stations by one of them.
Rahman reportedly told the personnel that since he was working in a power company he had visited the power stations out of academic interest while questioning. Nevertheless, this did not satisfy the officials who quizzed him further.
It came to light during inquiry that Rahman was screening candidates for his company using a local agency and had handpicked a few of them. Officials told him that screening of candidates was a visa violation technically as he (Rahman) had arrived on a tourist visa.
Genuine documents
The travel documents carried by the two were found to be genuine and they were scheduled to leave on Monday, the sources said and added that they were given a strict warning not to indulge in such type of activities in future and were let off, the sources said.
They left for Chennai by a Jet Airways flight from Tiruchi on Monday afternoon for their onward journey to Saudi Arabia via Mumbai.
They were found to be head hunting for their company
The two were let off with a stern warning
