Bihar man jailed, fined Rs 9.73 lakh for flouting Bahrain COVID-19 rules; family approaches MEA

Screengrab of Bihar man Mohammad Khalid's video that had gone viral in Bahrain

Mohammad Khalid, a 34-year-old native of Bihar, who has been working in the Kingdom of Bahrain for the past eight years, has reportedly been sentenced to three years imprisonment and slapped a fine of 5,000 Bahraini dinars or Rs 9.73 lakh approximately.

The incident came to light after the Bihar man’s brother Amjed Ullah Khan wrote to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and sought Dr S Jaishankar’s help to free Khalid.

Sharing details of the incident that landed his brother in jail, Amjed claimed that Khalid had completed 17 days of quarantine before he stepped out to buy food for himself and had not flouted any COVID-19 rule.

His letter to the MEA read: “On May 18, my brother was tested COVID positive and was sent to Sitra COVID Camp for three days. Later, he was shifted to Al Andalus Hotel and again to Salminiya Hospital. He was discharged on May 31 and was advised for 17 days of home quarantine with an electronic tracker wristband on his wrists. As he stays in a company-provided room and there was no one to provide food and essentials to him, so he went down on June 7, 2021, almost 50 yards from his residence. Suddenly one local from Bahrain saw Electronic Tracker Wristband in his hand and made a video and circulated it on social media. After that, the local police arrested him and took him to Sitra Camp where he was tested and found negative, and the camp authorities removed his ETW and gave him a clean chit.”

Suddenly one local from Bahrain saw Electronic Tracker Wristband on his hand and made a video and circulated on social media,The local police arrested him and took him to Sitra Camp where he was tested and found negative,The Sitra Camp removed his ETW and gave him a clean chit/2 pic.twitter.com/JLKJZ39Jkk

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— Amjed Ullah Khan MBT (@amjedmbt) June 14, 2021

“Again, on June 7, he was rearrested and taken to court which sentenced him to three years imprisonment. He has also been asked to pay 5000 BD, our entire family is in a state of shock.”

The Indian Embassy in Bahrain has already responded to Hussain Ahmed’s tweet and asked him to provide details of Mohammad Khalid.

Please send us the contact and other relevant details including CPR of Mr Mohd Khalid at wel2.bahrain@mea.gov.in or contact at Tel: 00973 17180529 — India in Bahrain (@IndiaInBahrain) June 15, 2021