Unable to pay fine of Rs 7.6 lakhs, Karnataka man languishes in Saudi Arabia for four years: Report

Mohammad Khalid, a man from Karnataka, has been stuck in a small place in Saudi Arabia for the last four years since he was unable to pay a fine of Rs 7.6 lakh that was levied upon him due to his conviction in a road accident case, the Times of India reported.

Recently, the news of Rs 34 crore being raised through crowdfunding to release a Kerala man facing death sentence for murdering his employer's differently abled son went viral throughout the country.

However, Khalid has not had such luck thus far. His parents had appealed to friends and authorities to help arrange the sum required through crowdfunding, but all requests have fallen on deaf ears till date.

Khalid hails from Belni village in Bhatkal taluk of Karnataka's Uttara Kannada disctrict.

Khalid went to Saudi Arabia in 2016 to work as a driver, reported The New Indian Express. After a couple of years, he met with an accident after his car collided with another coming from the opposite direction. Both Khalid and the driver of the other vehicle suffered injures. Mohammed Salama Hamad Al Anzi, the driver of the other vehicle who is a Saudi national, had then filed a case against Khalid, the publication reported.

"Four years ago, my car (owned by his sponsor) collided with a Saudi national's vehicle. A case was registered against me. I was convicted and a fine of 34,500 riyals (Roughly Rs 7.6 lakh INR) was imposed on me. I want to return to India. I request Indian govt to enable me to come home," Khalid told TOI.

“The court order and his inability to pay up has left him jobless in Saudi, where he is left to fend for himself,” his aunt told The New Indian Express.

Currently, he is working as a daily labourer and lives in a dormitory.