FB post: Karnataka man back home after 19 months in Saudi jail

Harish Bangera from Udupi district returned home from the Gulf after spending torturous 19 months behind the bars in a prison in Saudi Arabia for a blasphemous post against the Saudi crown Prince and the holy land of Mecca made out by fraudsters in his name.

Harish was freed on August 17 and he reached his home in Koteshwar in Udupi district on Wednesday (August 18).

It was due to the untiring efforts of the Udupi police, who arrested the two impersonators, and support of Union Minister Shobha Karandlaje, that Harish could return home.

Bangera was working as an air-conditioning technician in Saudi Arabia. He had shared a post supporting the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) of Indian government which angered his employer. He later apologised for sharing the post via a video and deactivated the account.

Meanwhile, apparently provoked by his pro-CAA post, two Muslim brothers from Dakshina Kannada district allegedly opened a fake Facebook account in Bangera’s name and posted objectionable material against the holy land and the crown prince. The Saudi police acted swiftly and arrested Harish.

Also read: 30 king cobra hatchlings rescued, released in forest

His wife Sumana filed a complaint with the CEN police station in Udupi stating that her husband was a victim of a conspiracy and explained that it was a fake account.

Police probe made it clear that Bangera had nothing to do with the account. The accused brothers were nabbed in October 2020 after it was found out that they had created the fake account.

The Udupi police shared the information collected with the Saudi Arabian government, which paved the way for his release.

Many people including social activist Ravindranath Shanbhag, former minister K Jayaprakash Hegde, MLA Halady Srinivas Shetty and police officials put in efforts to secure his release all these months.

The efforts of the Udupi police and later the intervention of Union Minister of state for Agriculture Shobha Karandlaje and several other political leaders resulted in Bangera being freed from a Saudi prison on August 17.

(With inputs from Agencies)