Mohammed Irfan, 42, was arrested for allegedly committing theft of medicines from a local government warehouse in Jeddah in January 2000 and since then he has been in jail, according to a December 21, 2016 correspondence between the Ministry of External Affairs and National Commission for Minorities (NCM) member Praveen Davar.
Irfan was arrested for allegedly violating two Saudi rights -- public and private.
According to a public court in Jeddah, Irfan must pay the amount to the Saudi Health Ministry for allegedly stealing medicines from the warehouse of its medical supply department, where he used to work as an air-conditioner technician.
Irfan is accused of selling the medicines to Mansoor Ali Hakeem, a Bangladeshi national, and transmitting cost of the medicines.
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Irfan's father Shakeel Ahmed and his brother Istekhar visited Jeddah during February-March, last year to enquire about the case and to meet him, the documents said.
"We are poor people. We can't afford to travel to Saudi
A tutor by profession, Istekhar said the family had in the past approached several authorities including the Prime Minister's Office and the External Affairs Ministry for help when Pranab Mukherjee, now President, was the External Affairs Minister.
"We sold our land and house to see my brother is released. A person who promised us help, took money but did not help us. We now urge (Sushma) Swaraj ji to help my brother return. My parents have turned old now, waiting to see their son. We earnestly request the minister to help us," he urged.
Irfan wanted to return home in the year he was arrested, but his employer was against it, he claimed.
He charged the employer with forcibly making Irfan work two years beyond the agreement and also paying less than what was assured.
Meanwhile, Davar has urged individuals and NGOs to extend monetary help to the family to secure Irfan's release.