Kadaba youth languishing in Saudi jail released, to return home today

Kadaba: A youth from Kadaba Taluk, who had been languishing in a Saudi jail after hackers used his credentials to steal money from a bank account, has been released.

Chandrasekhar, a resident of Mojoor, Aittoor village in Kadaba taluk, had been detained in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, for the past 11 months on allegations of fraud. He is set to return home on Monday, November 20.

Initially employed in Bengaluru, Chandrasekhar’s job promotion led him to Saudi Arabia to work with a ceramics company in 2022. His unexpected entanglement began when he visited a Riyadh shop to purchase a mobile phone and a SIM card. Chandrasekhar unknowingly signed an application, receiving an Arabic message a week later on a new phone number he did not recognize. Following this, a call requesting SIM-related information arrived.

Meanwhile, a woman filed a police complaint about the theft of funds from her bank account, resulting in Chandrasekhar’s arrest.

It was later discovered that hackers had illicitly opened a bank account in Chandrasekhar’s name. Funds totaling 22,000 Saudi Rials were deposited from a local woman’s account into the account opened in his name and swiftly rerouted to another country.

To add to the misery, Chandrasekhar’s impending marriage plans were disrupted. Moreover, during his time in jail, he was allowed only brief two-minute phone calls per day and no meetings with friends.

Friends and well-wishers, including BR Arunkumar from Madikeri and Kabir from Mangaluru, rallied support, collecting funds amounting to Rs 10 lakh, with Rs 6 lakh paid to the affected woman through legal channels.

However, his release remained unattainable until media reports drew the attention of his employers in Saudi Arabia, ultimately facilitating his release.