Abu Dhabi: An Indian businessman travelling to Istanbul from Abu Dhabi was mistakenly arrested as a suspect in a fake passport racket bust, XPRESS has learnt. He landed in jail for reportedly giving directions to three men travelling on fake passports.
Kamala Kannan, 42, was on a visit to the UAE when he was arrested at the Abu Dhabi airport on July 11. He was supposed to board Etihad Flight EY0097 to Istanbul at nine in the morning.
He was later released on July 18 after the court found him innocent.
Wrong direction
“I cannot believe my fate. All I did to end up in jail was to help three men, who happened to be from my native place, with directions inside the airport after the immigration check,” Kannan from Chennai, India told XPRESS.
All the three men were later found to be travelling on fake passports, and are currently in jail.
According to him, after he cleared the immigration check, three men approached him and asked for directions to Gate 39. “They were also from Chennai, and since we were all travelling to the same destination, I readily helped them with directions,” said the businessman.
But immigration authorities stopped the three men before boarding. Kannan was also arrested along with them as officials suspected him to be part of the same group.
“I tried to explain to them that I am a businessman from India, and a frequent traveller to Europe. But no one was buying my version of the story that I don’t know anything about these men,” said Kannan.
He was later produced in the court that pronounced him innocent after the authenticity of his passport was verified.
But Kannan’s misery is far from over. He is stranded in the country as his passport has been withheld by the court.
“They are asking me to wait till the end of Eid holidays to release my passport. All my business plans have gone haywire. Moreover, my expenses are mounting as I am staying in a hotel in Abu Dhabi,” said the businessman.
He said he has requested the authorities and the Indian embassy to expedite the release of his passport as he is already proved innocent.
