40-year-old Shankar from Basrur Jailed in Kuwait for Carrying Banned Tablets

40-year-old Shankar from Basrur Jailed in Kuwait for Carrying Banned Tablets

Udupi: 40-year-old Shankar Poojary from Basrur Kundapur has been languishing in the Kuwait Jail for three months for carrying medicine for his friend’s relative in Kuwait.

Shankar Poojary had been working in an agricultural food product company in Kuwait since 2014. He would visit Udupi on leave once in 2 years and as usual, on April 25, Shankar came to the city on vacation for two months. He left to Mumbai on June 13 and on the same night to Kuwait.

When Shankar reached Kuwait, he was stopped at the airport for checking by the customs. After the checking was done, he was allowed to go home. But the Kuwait police followed him and arrested him before he could reach home. The Kuwait police held Shankar in the airport and later shifted him to the jail where he has been languishing since.

Shankar’s wife Jyothi, who was waiting for his call from Kuwait, did not get any calls from him. She inquired with Shankar’s friends but they too did not have a clue of where Shankar had gone. On June 14, the Kuwait police called Jyothi and informed her that Shankar was arrested but did not give any information about the cause of his arrest.

Mubarak

On June 28, Jyothi received one more call from the Indian Embassy saying that Shankar was arrested and asked her to arrange the necessary legal support but they too did not tell the reason for his arrest. In July, Shankar called Jyothi and explained to her the reason for his arrest. Shankar said that his friend Mubarak had sent tablets with him, which were to be handed over to his aunt Thaslima Fathima in Kuwait, and that this had led to his arrest.

Mubarak had handed over the packet of tablets to Shankar prior to his departure to Mumbai. He had requested him to hand it over to his aunt for her personal use. Trusting his friend, Shankar had taken with him the packet of tablets. After the arrest, Shankar tried to contact Fathima thrice on the phone and convinced her to help him get out of the jail. But she did not do anything to help him out.

According to Mubarak, Jyothi contacted the Human Rights Protection Foundation’s Dr. Ravindranath Shanbhag to help her in getting her husband out of Kuwait Jail. On 10 June 2018, Mubarak had purchased 210 Ultracet tablets from a medical shop in Udupi. Mubarak had given the prescription along with the tablets and the receipt of purchase.

According to Dr. Shanbhag, the prescription was given by the doctor on April 9, 2015, for only 20 tablets but the date in the prescription slip was scribbled to be seen as 2018. Instead of giving only 20 tablets, the medical shop staff had given 210 tablets.

Since the incident has taken place in Kuwait, the local police are not in a position to help Jyothi. Now, Jyothi is knocking on every door for help to get her husband released.

Mubarak tried his best to help Jyothi when there was pressure on him to get Shankar released from Kuwait jail for helping him. He had gone to the KMC Hospital to get a fresh prescription. But the doctor refused to give the prescription without seeing the patient. Mubarak again went to a Nursing home in Udupi to get the prescription but they too refused.

Mubarak later explained to the doctor about the need for the prescription slip to save an innocent man who was jailed in Kuwait. The doctor prescribed the medicines on the slip in which the date was mentioned as 9 July 2018. Social activists then sent the prescription slip to government officials in Kuwait. This again created another problem as the patient was in Kuwait. So how could the doctor have written the prescription slip without seeing the patient?

According to the Foreign Affairs Ministry website, Shankar was arrested for carrying the banned drug to Kuwait. The police have already informed the family to make necessary arrangements for the release of Shankar. The Central government and the ministry is trying their best to bring Shankar back from Kuwait.