Saudi police have dismissed as false a viral video in which an Indian worker appeared to plead for rescue from alleged abuse by his employer. The Eastern Province Police stated that the man, an expatriate from Uttar Pradesh, fabricated the story to attract social media attention and boost his online visibility.
After summoning the man for questioning, officials determined that he had recorded and posted the clip “to increase the number of views on his social media account.” Authorities confirmed that there was no dispute between him and his employer, and legal action has been initiated against him in coordination with relevant Saudi agencies.
The video, which circulated widely across platforms like X, showed the man in tears, speaking in Bhojpuri, and claiming that his sponsor had confiscated his passport and threatened his life. He appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the public to share the video so he could return home to his mother. The emotional nature of the footage, filmed with a camel in the background, drew widespread attention, prompting Indian authorities to respond.
The Indian embassy in Riyadh said it was attempting to trace the man but faced difficulties due to missing location and contact details. The Saudi police, however, later confirmed that the video’s claims were baseless. They reiterated that “the video was published for the purpose of increasing the number of views” and held “no validity.”
This clarification came amid heightened sensitivity over migrant welfare in Saudi Arabia, particularly after the government decided to abolish the controversial Kafala system. The reform, viewed as a significant improvement for workers’ rights, allows foreign employees to change jobs and exit the country without employer permission — a shift from the previous restrictive sponsorship framework that human rights groups had criticized as exploitative.
