Daijiworld Media Network - Dammam

Dammam, Dec 22: A man from Kundapur working in Dammam, Saudi Arabia is reportedly in trouble for uploading a blasphemous and provocative post on Facebook.

Harish Bangera from Kundapur, working as an air-conditioning technician for a company in Dammam, on Saturday December 21 uploaded a blasphemous post about the Kaaba in Mecca, the holy site for Muslims across the world.

The post received hundreds of comments and shares, with many criticising Harish.

The post reportedly also came to the attention of Saudi authorities, and according to posts on Facebook going viral, the police in Dammam have already arrested him within an hour after the complaint was made.

Harish's employers too reportedly took action and terminated him from the job with immediate effect. A post going viral on Facebook reads: "We Gulf Carton Factory Co. want to have your attention for what happened, in relation to unethical posts, posted by Mr. Harish Bangera from his personal Facebook account. It was unacceptable and we have immediately terminated Mr. Harish Bagera form his duties and company contract. We condemn such activities extremely and have reported this case to Police, Ministry of labour & Saudi authorities for their further action. We assure everyone that we have zero tolerance for such acts (sic)." The message is purportedly written by Meshari AM Al Jabr of Gulf Carton Factory Co where Harish was said to be employed.

Meanwhile, a video going viral shows Harish pleading for forgiveness from Muslims over the post. In the video, he says, "I have committed a mistake. Please forgive me. I will never upload any such posts again. I faced lots of problems before I came here (Dammam). I ask Muslim brothers to forgive me this time. I am facing problem from my company. Please forgive me." It is not certain when the video was created.

The incident is a grave reminder to Indians staying in Gulf and Middle East countries against uploading any blasphemous or objectionable posts and pictures online, especially relating to religious beliefs. Cyber rules are very strict and the authorities are known to take immediate and stringent action against anyone posting inflammatory comments on social media.