Shraban Sahu with his mother at his Manapada village home in Kendrapara district’s Rajnagar tehsil. Telegraph picture

Kendrapara, Aug. 11: A youth from Manapada village of this district has returned home after spending six months in an Iraqi jail for having overstayed in that country.

Looking for a job abroad, construction worker Shraban Kumar Sahu, who hails from Rajnagar tehsil, found himself in an Iraqi jail. The worker, least versed with legal aspects of immigration, had to remain jailed though he had already undergone the prison sentence awarded by the foreign court. He had gone there on a tourist visa for six months.

Sahu came back to his native village yesterday because of an Iraqi jail official, who had helped him in contacting his family members over phone.

“My family was not aware that I was in jail. I was in a state of shock. Moved by my plight, a prison official allowed me to talk to my sister from his cell phone,” Sahu said.

“After my father died, I had moved overseas to support my family. I have to look after my mother and five sisters,” Sahu said.

“I was arrested near Hilla check post, about 100km from the Iraqi capital, earlier this year. I was working in Nafaz and on my way to Baghdad, where I had got a new job with a higher salary. I was arrested because my visa had expired. I was awarded six-month imprisonment. I was not tortured or ill treated in the jail.”

“In the cell, in which I was lodged, there were five Pakistanis, two Bangladeshis and a Malaysian. I had befriended Bangla inmates as I could comprehend their mother tongue. The jail officials and employees were never rude or harsh towards the foreigners. Food provided in the jail was completely alien to me. The menu mostly consisted of non-vegetable items. I had no choice but to eat rice and raw onion.”

“We got him back, thanks to Kendrapara MP Baijayant Panda. He had taken up Shraban’s case with the central government. He had been in constant touch with us. Earlier, we had apprised the Kendrapara collector of our plight, but the administration did nothing,” said Bharati Sahu, younger sister of the construction worker.

Sahu was released from jail on Saturday and repatriated with official arrangements by Indian embassy at Baghdad.