Telugu man faces identity crisis even after death in Saudi Arabia

The tough times are said to have forced a Andhra Pradesh native to take his own life in his room in Naseem district in Riyadh on October 22 last year

Jeddah: A foreign worker’s existence in any Gulf country is based on the visa (iqama). Everything, right from work to house and even his or her death is identified by the visa. Seeking help from a friend, who holds a valid visa, to remit the money or rent a house for some Indians whose Iqamas were expired is common, however, this can pose a serious identity issue, as happened in the case of 39-year-old Pattanreddy Hanif Khan.

Hanif Khan, a native of Tamballapalli mandal in Annamayya district of Andhra Pradesh, who was doing odd jobs, mostly as a driver in Riyadh, had lost money while trying his luck with a Thailand lottery. And in between, his Iqama too expired and he was declared an absconder by his employer. His existence in Saudi Arabia thus became illegal. The tough times are said to have forced him to take his own life in his room in Naseem district in Riyadh on October 22 last year.

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Neighbours felt a bad odor emitting from the decomposed body and informed the house owner, who in turn who informed the police and security forces, who opened the door and found his body. However, since the room was leased to another Indian, Shakeeb, the police contacted Shakeeb’s sponsor, who told them Shakeeb was alive. The police then went for biometric identification, but even there, due to some discrepancy in his passport number, they could not identify him.

Meanwhile, Indian community worker Siddik Tuvoor found Hanif Khan’s mobile phone, and managed to unlock the phone. He then made a series of calls to the last dialed numbers. One of these calls went to a person who identified himself as Hanif Khan’s brother in Tirupati. He also provided a passport copy and other details of his brother to Siddik, after which the final procedures were initiated.