Identity mismatch lands Indian Umrah pilgrim in Saudi jail

The passenger had never travelled to Saudi Arabia or any other country in his life and this was his maiden trip that landed him in trouble, according to the family

Jeddah: A spiritual journey to Islam’s Holy Land turned sour for an Indian family after one of the family members was detained at Jeddah’s King Abdulaziz International Airport as his name and particulars matched with a ‘wanted criminal’ and case dating back some 25 years.

The passenger had never travelled to Saudi Arabia or any other country in his life and this was his maiden trip that landed him in trouble, according to the family.

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The 57-year-old, identified as Mohammed Ghouse, a resident of Jayanagar in Bengaluru, was working as a Road Transport Commission agent in the city. He along with eight of his relatives arrived in Saudi Arabia to perform Umrah on Monday.

According to Mohammed Mutabbir, the nephew of Ghouse, he was stopped upon arrival at the airport in Jeddah by passport authorities. “They took his passport. We thought it was a routine procedure but later he was taken to a separate room. We were told that he was being detained as his data matches that of a criminal wanted by police,” he said.

“When I asked officials about my uncle, they told me that he will be handed over to the police in the Asir region whose capital headquarter Abha is 600 km from Jeddah,” Mutabbir added.

Frightened and not knowing what to do, Mutabbir along with other group pilgrims panicked with the sudden development. They approached the Indian consulate, which acted swiftly, and its team visited the airport and met the detained Umrah pilgrim, who was later moved to Abha for investigation.

The family has been anxiously waiting for the verification process and his release from behind bars. The family also informed that Ghouse had never been to Saudi Arabia or any other part of the world in his life, he obtained a passport for the first time last month only.

During the last Haj season, an elderly pilgrim from Madhya Pradesh was also detained for mismatching details and was released later.