A truck driver from Tehri Garhwal, Uttarakhand, has spent years trapped in Saudi Arabia — not in a prison cell, but in something arguably worse: held in a hostage-like grip by his employer, unable to come home, his family in India running out of options. Now, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has taken the matter to the highest diplomatic desk available, writing to External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar on Wednesday, 12 August 2026, and demanding immediate central intervention to bring Indramani Nautiyal home safely.

A 2018 Road Accident That Never Stopped Punishing Him

Indramani Nautiyal, son of Devi Ram Nautiyal, from village Gaursada, Block Jaunpur, Tehri Garhwal, left for Saudi Arabia in 2018 in search of work. He found employment as a truck driver with Pekak Roads and Contracting Company, Riyadh. That same year, a serious road accident changed everything.

Saudi Arabia's judicial process held Nautiyal to one year of imprisonment. It also levied a fine of 9 lakh Saudi Riyals — approximately ₹2.29 crore — on the company owner, on account of deficiencies in the truck's insurance and registration. The fine was the employer's liability. But years passed, and the employer never paid.

Hostage to a Fine He Didn't Owe

With the fine unpaid, Nautiyal has allegedly been kept in a hostage-like condition, under pressure to somehow ensure the amount is settled — a debt that was never legally his to begin with. His wife and daughter have knocked on multiple doors seeking his repatriation. They have found no meaningful relief. The family, CM Dhami's letter states, is now facing severe mental and financial distress.

In his letter to Dr. Jaishankar, CM Dhami has requested that the relevant authorities be directed immediately to: free Nautiyal from his captive situation, provide him necessary legal and financial assistance, and ensure his safe return to India. 'The state government will make every possible effort to assist any Uttarakhand citizen stuck in difficult circumstances abroad,' Dhami said, while urging the Centre and the Ministry of External Affairs to approach the case with a humanitarian lens.

India's Gulf Worker Protection Framework — and Its Limits

Uttarakhand has a long tradition of out-migration to Gulf countries for employment. Saudi Arabia is one of the largest hosts of Indian migrant workers globally, and India maintains formal bilateral channels — including consular mechanisms and labor dispute frameworks — to address cases of distress. State governments periodically escalate individual cases to the Ministry of External Affairs when consular-level resolution stalls, making Dhami's letter a standard but consequential move within this framework.

The ball is now in New Delhi's court. The Indian mission in Riyadh will likely be the first point of operational contact if the Ministry acts on the CM's request. For a man who went abroad to drive a truck and earn a living, the path home has wound through an accident, a courtroom, an employer's default, and now two governments. His family is waiting for the last door to finally open.