Air India crew briefly detained in Saudi; captain seeks MEA’s action

Agencies

August 1, 2017

Mumbai, Aug 1: After the crew members of the Air India flight from Mumbai to Jeddah flight were detained in Saudi Arabia for three hours due to a permit issue on June 26, a senior Air India Captain has requested the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) to take cognizance in the matter and find an amicable solution by coordinating with the appropriate department at the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

"We believe your office will take swift necessary step to resolve this issue faced by pilots and crew, who are not just airline employees but citizens of this country. We are ready to correspond and cooperate with your office in any matter that is reasonably possible from our side," the letter by the senior Air India Captain read.

The letter further reads that it is reliably confirmed that the passports of pilots and crew members were detained and in turn, a document to the effect of an entry visa is issued for the purpose of entering the country or leaving the airport.

"This practice is not recognised by Saudi Arabia's own laws and it is in direct violation of human rights. In fact, a member of the National Society of Human Rights has clarified as early as of 2011 that Saudi laws allow a non-Saudi to keep his or her passport and that the passport belongs only to its holder," the statement said.

The incident took place on June 26 when the crew members of the national carrier landed in Jeddah.

The crew members of the Air India flight 931 were returning to their hotel after having dinner when their taxi was intercepted by Saudi police for a routine permit checking.

Despite showing a copy of immigration and valid Air India IDs, they were put in the police vans and were told not to use cell phones.

Subsequently, one of the crew members made a call to their hotel and explained the situation giving their location. Following which two hotel staff came for their release.

But despite showing the immigration paper to the police, the crew members were taken to the police station.

Later, cell phones of the crew members were confiscated and all of them were locked inside a room.

Three hours later, an Arab hotel staffer came and explained the police official about their identity following which they were released.

The crew members and the air hostess were detained as copies of permits are not valid in Jeddah.

The crew members upon reaching the hotel got a call from the station manager, Jeddah, who enquired about the incident.

The station manager said that the amnesty period is over in Saudi and the government is throwing out illegal immigrants.

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Voting underway in Karnataka bypolls: Family legacies and political heavyweights battle across 3 segments

News Network

November 13,2024

Bengaluru: An estimated overall 10.14 per cent voter turnout was recorded during the first two hours, since the voting began for bypolls to three Assembly segments in Karnataka on Wednesday, election officials said.

The voting began at 7 am and will go on till 6 pm.

More than seven lakh voters are eligible to cast their votes in about 770 polling stations in Shiggaon, Sandur and Channapatna, where a total of 45 candidates are in the fray.

While Channapatna recorded 10.34 per cent voter turnout till 9 am, it was 10.08 per cent in Shiggaon, and 9.99 per cent in Sandur, election officials said.

Voters, including women and elderly were seen queuing up in front of polling booths in these segments.

By-polls for Sandur, Shiggaon, and Channapatna are necessitated, as the seats fell vacant following the election of their respective representatives -- E Tukaram of Congress, former CM Basavaraj Bommai of BJP, and Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy of JD(S) -- to Lok Sabha in May elections.

As many as 31 candidates are in the fray from Channapatna, while Sandur and Shiggaon have six and eight contenders, respectively.

Elaborate security arrangements have been made in the three segments for the smooth conduct of the polls.

The by-polls will witness a straight fight between the ruling Congress and BJP in Sandur and Shiggaon segments, while in Channapatna, JD(S) which is part of the NDA alliance is in contest against the grand old party.

Among the three segments, Channapatna is considered to be a "high profile", where the contest is between C P Yogeeshwara, a five time MLA from the segment and former Minister, who joined the Congress quitting BJP ahead of nomination, and actor-turned -politician Nikhil Kumaraswamy, who is Kumaraswamy’s son and former PM H D Deve Gowda's grandson.

BJP's Bharath Bommai, son of Basavaraj Bommai, is fighting Congress Yasir Ahmed Khan Pathan, who had faced defeat against the former Chief Minister in the 2023 Assembly polls, in Shiggaon.

Bharath Bommai and his father cast their vote at a polling booth in Shiggaon segment.

In Sandur, Bellary MP Tukaram's wife E Annapurna of Congress is contesting from the seat vacated by her husband, against, BJP ST Morcha president Bangaru Hanumanthu, who is considered close to party leader and former mining barron G Janardhan Reddy.

Annapurna, Tukaram and other family members cast their votes at a booth in the segment.

With Nikhil Kumaraswamy and Bharath Bommai contesting, the third generation of Gowda and Bommai families are in the fray in this by-poll. Both their fathers and grandfathers have served as Karnataka's Chief Ministers in the past.

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