Telangana Worker Trapped in UAE SIM Fraud Case

KARIMNAGAR: Bolly Anil, 26, a native of Chirlavancha village in Vemulawada mandal of Rajanna Sircilla district, is stranded in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Two criminal cases have been filed against him at the Ajman Police Station, preventing his return home. The charges stemmed from a SIM card he had purchased, unaware that it would lead to criminal cases, a travel ban, and severe emotional trauma. The cases allegedly arose from the fraudulent misuse of his identity documents.

Anil (Passport No. T0644476) travelled to the UAE in 2021 on a visit visa arranged by a Jagtial-based agency and later became trapped in the fraud.

According to TPCC NRI cell convener Shaik Chand Pasha, the crisis began when Anil bought a SIM card in Abu Dhabi. It is suspected that either a shop owner or someone linked to the travel agency misused his identification documents to issue additional SIM cards to others. These fraudulently obtained SIMs were later connected to two criminal cases, 751/2022 and 2468/2022, registered with the Ajman Police Station, over 500 km away from Anil’s workplace in Abu Dhabi.

The key concern is Anil’s complete lack of awareness about the seriousness of the charges. Though Ajman Police questioned him in 2022, they allowed him to resume work, apparently satisfied that he was not the main culprit. A significant language barrier may have contributed to this misunderstanding.

Anil, a Scheduled Caste worker from rural Vemulawada, speaks only Telugu, neither Arabic, Hindi, nor English, raising serious questions about his ability to communicate or even commit crimes such as harassment of women, as one of the charges alleges. Believing the matter resolved, Anil continued to work for four years, unaware that the police cases were still active.

The ordeal deepened in July 2025, when Anil tried to return home. After cancelling his employment visa, he was stopped at the Abu Dhabi airport, where he learned of the pending cases and an accompanying travel ban that prevented his departure. With his visa now cancelled, he is technically overstaying in the UAE, incurring a daily fine of 50 dirhams.

Meanwhile, Pasha has launched a multi-pronged appeal to both the Central and State governments. He described Anil’s ordeal as part of a wider pattern of fraudulent exploitation of migrant workers, recalling other Telangana victims who faced false charges abroad, in some cases leading to suicide. He has written to external affairs minister S. Jaishankar, urging immediate intervention to secure Anil’s release and safe return.

Pasha told Deccan Chronicle that Anil was “an innocent man trapped in a legal tangle due to the criminal acts of others, possibly a shop owner or a travel agent who misused his ID.” He said, “Our primary goal is to secure comprehensive legal aid from the Indian Embassy in Abu Dhabi, investigate the original SIM-card fraud, prove Anil’s innocence before the Ajman Police, and ensure the travel ban is lifted.”

He added that this intervention is essential not only for Anil’s safe repatriation to Hyderabad but also to safeguard his mental health. The Telangana government, he said, must press the Centre to ensure that this vulnerable SC worker is protected and brought home without delay.