Indian techie forced to work as cleaner in Saudi Arabia rescued

West Bengal CID on Monday brought back a software engineer who was forced to work in Saudi Arabia as a cleaner.

Asraful Halque, a BSc (I-T) degree holder and a resident of Bhalugram in Burdwan district’s Mongalkote, was brought back from Daman after he sent an e-mail to the State police detailing his plight, a senior officer of the force said.

Asraful had gone to Saudi Arabia through a Mumbai-based agency, Akbar Overseas, to join a bank’s I-T support team. On reaching Riyadh, his documents including passport and visa were snatched and he was forced to work for Saudi Credit and Savings Bank as house keeping staff by recruiter Al Mufti, another agency that supplies labour to banks, the officer said.

“He was tortured when he refused to work. We contacted the Ministry of External Affairs and local authorities after receiving an e-mail from Ashraful. After prolonged persuasion, the CID successfully arranged for his return,” he said.

Ashraful thanked West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and said he would “remain grateful to her for giving him a new lease of life.”