Karnataka man falls victim to cyber fraud, lodged in Saudi Arabia jail for 9 months; BJP MP seeks help from EAM

The man was working in Saudi Arabia and bought a mobile phone along with a SIM card from a local shop. His personal details were used by cyber fraudsters to open a bank account in his name, where they transferred SR 22,000 from a woman's account. After which, the man was arrested and since then is languishing in a jail there.

Mangaluru (Karnataka): A 33-year-old man from Dakshina Kannada was arrested in Riyah and is lodged in a jail in Saudi Arabia since November 2022 after cyber fraudsters allegedly opened a fake bank account in his name and made an illegal fund transaction. BJP MP from Dakshina Kannada Nalin Kumar Kateel has written a letter to External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar demanding arrest of the fraudsters and requested to initiate efforts for the man's release.

Chandrasekhar MK of Aituru village of Kadaba taluk in Dakshina Kannada district was working for Saudi Arabia's AL FANAR Company since 2022. In a letter to EAM, Kateel said that Chandrasekhar was arrested after purchasing a mobile phone and SIM card a year back.

"Chandrasekhar was asked to record his thumb impression twice after which, he received a message in Arabic on his phone. Later, he received a call asking him to provide his SIM card details and to share the OTP (One-Time Password) that was sent on his phone. Chandrasekhar provided the OTP to the caller without suspecting anything. Soon after which, he was arrested on charges of his involvement in a bank fraud case", Kateel wrote.

''Hackers misused Chandrasekhar's personal information and opened a fraud bank account in his name. They then transferred SR 22,000 from a local woman's account to the account fraudulently opened in Chandrasekhar's name. The man is currently in the custody of the Laban Suburban Police Station of Riyadh in Saudi Arabia. Urgent action should be taken to release him from police custody," the MP demanded.

Chandrasekhar's sister Puneeta said her brother is a victim of conspiracy and the family got information about the arrest from a person named Arun from Kodagu in Riyadh. "We came to know that SR 22,000 that was transferred into the account in Chandrasekhar's name was later transferred to another country. Despite several efforts taken through lawyers in Riyadh, Chandrasekhar was not released. We are now trying to contact the External Affairs Minister through Union Minister Shobha Karandlaje," Chandrasekhar's sister said. Also, Chandrasekhar's marriage scheduled in January was canceled due to his arrest, she added.