K’taka Woman Pleads for Release of Husband Arrested in Saudi Arabia

Dakshina Kannada (Karnataka): A woman has pleaded with the government of India for the release of her husband, who has been arrested by the authorities in Saudi Arabia.

She also said that her husband has been targeted for putting up a patriotic message on social media.

Kavitha, a resident of Barnakatte near Mangaluru, claimed on Thursday that some miscreants have created a fake social media account of her husband Shailesh Kumar and posted derogatory messages against the king of Saudi Arabia and Islam.

Shailesh has been working in Saudi Arabia for 20 years now.

“In February last year, my husband had put up a patriotic message on his social media account, following which he had received a threat call from a stranger. The stranger had warned Shailesh to withdraw the social media account and if he didn’t, they wouldn’t allow him to be in Saudi Arabia. Taking no chances, Shailesh had withdrawn his account,” she said.

After a few days, the miscreants created a fake social media account in Shailesh’s name and uploaded derogatory messages against Islam and the King of Saudi Arabia, hatching a conspiracy to get him arrested, she said.

BJP leader Jitendra Kottari said that Shailesh is in a Saudi prison for one-and-a-half years now after the police arrested him without any investigation.

The Indian organisations in Saudi Arabia are also silent on the issue, he said.

The matter has been brought to the notice of BJP state President Nalin Kumar Kateel, who is also a local MP. Though Kateel has written a letter to the External Affairs Ministry, there has been no progress in the matter.

The government should take all the necessary steps for Shailesh’s release, Kottari said.