Just weeks after Saudi Arabia scrapped its controversial kafala system, a video of an Indian worker allegedly trapped by his employer has gone viral, drawing the attention of Indian authorities in Riyadh.
The man, reportedly from Handia in Prayagraj district, Uttar Pradesh, appears visibly distressed in the video, claiming his employer — identified only as “Kapil” — has confiscated his passport and is threatening to kill him. Pleading directly to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he says, “Please help me, I will die.”
The video, which also tagged External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, was shared alongside a message urging urgent intervention: “Honourable Foreign Minister, please take immediate cognisance. A resident of Handia, Pratappur in Prayagraj, is stranded in Saudi Arabia.”
माननीय विदेश मंत्री @DrSJaishankar जी तत्काल संज्ञान मे ले, प्रयागराज हंडिया प्रतापपुर का रहने वाला फंसा सऊदी अरब मे…
पार्ट 1 सभी भाई बहन इस वीडियो को शेयर करें ताकि इसकी सहायता हो पाए 🙏 pic.twitter.com/5op97otITq
— कल्पना श्रीवास्तव 🇮🇳 (@Lawyer_Kalpana) October 23, 2025
In the clip, the worker says he wants to return to his mother and appeals to social media users to share the video widely so that it reaches Indian authorities. “Share this video so much that, with your support from India, I can get help and come back home,” he says.
Responding to the viral post, the Indian Embassy in Riyadh said it was trying to locate the man but faced difficulties due to the lack of identifying details.
“The Embassy has been trying to locate the person. No further action can be taken as the video does not contain any details about the location/province in Saudi Arabia, or contact number or employer details,” the mission wrote on X.
Embassy has been trying to locate the person. No further action can be taken as the video does not contain any details about the location/province in Saudi Arabia, or contact number or employer details.@Lawyer_Kalpana please seek details from the source of the video you have…
— India in Saudi Arabia (@IndianEmbRiyadh) October 24, 2025
The embassy also urged the original poster, identified as lawyer Kalpana, to provide more details about the worker’s identity and whereabouts to assist in the search.
The incident comes just weeks after Saudi Arabia formally abolished its controversial kafala (sponsorship) system — a framework long criticised for enabling the exploitation and abuse of migrant labourers.
