Missing 'presumed dead' Indian in UAE jail

A missing Indian man, who was presumed dead by his family back home, is in jail in Abu Dhabi for overstaying his one-month visa during his visit to the Gulf nation, according to a media report.

Wasi Ahmad, who belongs to Rampur district of Uttar Pradesh, came to Dubai on a one-month tourist visa through an agent in India on February 9. The agent promised to provide him with an employment visa as soon as he reached and charged him Rs 80,000. Ahmad did not receive any employment visa but got a job after illegally staying for two months in the country.

He (Wasi Ahmad) is currently in jail for overstaying. In such cases we refer the case to the police who send them to jail. Once all legal formalities are complete, we inform authorities and issue an air ticket, Pooja Vernekar, First Secretary at the Head of Community Affairs of the Indian Embassy, was quoted as saying by the Gulf News on Tuesday.

She said that he was being provided consular and financial assistance.

Once he is repatriated, we will also write to the state government in India to take legal action against the exploiting agency, she added.

Ahmad was handed over to police by the embassy officials after he approached them to report against the agent. He was put in jail for his failure to pay the overstay fine. His phone was also taken from him and he was unable to inform his family about his whereabouts.

Meanwhile, his family presumed him dead after no contact from him and contacted his friends who approached the embassy to find Ahmad.

Vernekar said that fake job offers from unscrupulous agents are common and advised Indians to avoid coming to the UAE on a visit visa in search of work, the report said.