Mangaluru, Feb 5: In what can be termed as a case ofhate crime' against an Indian in Uganda, a youth from coastal Karnataka who lives along with his wife and three children in the East African nation, is allegedly being blackmailed by a company after fixing him in afalse case.'
The family of Abdul Rasheed (33), son of Mohammed Shafi from Panakaje village in Belthangady taluk on the outskirts of Mangaluru city, is now struggling for a square meal a day in Kampala, the capital of Uganda, where he had been working for a local company for nearly six years.
The trouble started last year, when a gang of miscreants decamped with cash and documents from his office after snatching keys from him when he was returning home after closing the office.
Mr Rasheed had immediately approached the local police and lodged a complaint. However, according to the family sources of the Mr Rasheed, the Ugandan police were reluctant to take any action as the victim was an Indian.
The trouble worsened when the company asked Mr Rasheed to fetch the missing documents and cash (around Rs 5 lakh) as the police failed to catch the culprits. As he failed to bring the missing documents and cash, the company itself lodged a theft case against him. He was arrested and sent to jail in July, 2016.
Even though he was released on bail in December, 2016, thanks to the efforts of a few locals, the company, which has confiscated his passport, continued to blackmail him. The company is now demanding Rs 15 lakh from him to return the passport and withdraw the complaint.
His father Sahfi told coastaldigest.com that after walking out of the prison Mr Rasheed's difficulties intensified. “He has married a Somali immigrant woman in Kampala. The couple has a one-year-old son and two daughters aged three and five. When he was in prison a local mosque used to supply food to his family. Now, his family's condition is pathetic. He has no money for food or house rent. As the company has refused to return the passport, he can neither find any other job in Uganda nor come back to India,” he said.
When the issue was recently brought to the notice of external affairs ministry of India, the authorities reportedly discussed the issue with the Indian High Commissioner in Uganda. However, he too was helpless as a case was pending against Mr Rasheed.
Mr Rasheed's helpless father, who has no sources of income, has now urged Sushma Swaraj, the minister of external affairs, to personally intervene in the case and take necessary steps to force the company to return his son's passport and withdraw false charges against him.
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May Allah help them.
Ameen.
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