Held in cell, forced to admit to false identity: Noida man’s ordeal in Abu Dhabi

A businessman from Noida, who was detained in Abu Dhabi after being mistakenly identified as a wanted criminal, reached India on Sunday (October 16) after being set free.

Praveen Kumar received a rousing reception with the crowd greeting with garlands after reaching the airport in New Delhi, where he narrated to media persons his ordeal in Abu Dhabi.

According to reports, Praveen who along with wife Usha had landed in Abu Dhabi, a stopover in his travel to Switzerland on October 11, was detained by airport authorities after the face recognition software found his face matching with that of a wanted criminal.

A resident of Habibpur village in Greater Noida, Praveen works as a contractor for a cement company. One of his relatives told the media that the company had offered Praveen and his wife a week-long trip to Switzerland. As the couple were unable to find a direct flight to Switzerland, they had instead taken one from Delhi to Abu Dhabi, from where they were supposed to take a connecting flight to Switzerland. They had left on October 11.

Praveen told reporters that while the CID at the airport let him go after briefly stopping him, they detained him a second time when he was on his way to departure.

“They kept me overnight, forced me to accept I was someone else, put me in a holding cell in the morning, took me to a different city, held me and questioned me again. Would like to thank PM Modi and CM Adityanath for their quick action in the matter,” Praveen was quoted as saying by ANI.

His wife said their passports and visas were immediately confiscated by immigration authorities at the airport and they were taken into separate rooms.

The Ministry of External Affairs, the Indian Embassy in UAE and the home ministry of Uttar Pradesh leapt into action after the news of Praveen’s detention was showed on news channels and his worried family tweeted the issue to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and other officials of the ministry, seeking immediate help.

Praveen was released on Saturday reportedly after the Indian government intervened into the matter.