Abdulla SS, a native of Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, has been staying in Dubai on a visiting visa for nearly a month now. All this time he has been sending emails after emails, in search of a job.
One reply that he got from a prospective employer left him shocked. A man called Jayant Gokhale replied to Abdulla’s job-seeking email: “Just a thought. why you need a job. Go to Delhi and sit in Shaheen Bag for protest. Everyday you will get Rs 1000, Free Food e.g. Biriyani, unlimited amount of tea and milk, some time sweets also (sic).”
Jayant, who runs a consultancy in Dubai, was implying that Abdulla should join the protests at Shaheen Bagh in Delhi, organised mainly by women, against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) passed by the Union government. People sharing the screenshots of the email were offended for two reasons: one, Abdulla was insulted over his religion, and two, the massive protests at Shaheen Bagh by women were belittled.
TNM spoke to Abdulla, who confirmed the news, but did not wish to speak more about it, as he does not want to make it a problem. He had not leaked the email deliberately. Abdulla, on receiving the email, was shocked by the response and forwarded it to his brother’s friend with whom he was staying in Dubai. The friend had sent it to another person who put it out on social media and then the post got viral.
“I am a mechanical engineer and every day that I have been in Dubai, I have sent hundreds of emails seeking jobs. Through whatever contacts I come to know about job opportunities, I send out an application – it can come from WhatsApp or Telegram groups or else job portals on the internet. It is to one such email that I sent this particular application,” Abdulla says.
When the email became a topic of discussion, Abdulla received an apology letter from Jayant who wrote that he is more than 70 years old and not well, and he didn’t mean what he wrote.
Abdulla also came to know that a case has been registered against Jayant. But he cannot confirm this, it is only hearsay. However, Samar Inam Khan, a Delhi based lawyer, tweeted that his team has worked on the case of Jayant Gokhale who then sought apology from the UAE Govt. "He was forgiven," the tweet adds.
The man Jayant Gokhale sought apology from UAE Govt. He was forgiven .
— Samar Inam Khan | সমর ইনাম খান (@samarinamkhan) January 27, 2020
Good Lesson to him...
We Will Keep doing this... We need to let this poison out if heads... https://t.co/BgcvoseOV0
Mistaken identity
Meanwhile, a man called Jayant Gokhale has written on Facebook that someone had fabricated a disrespectful message using his name to disturb communal harmony, and he has been getting threats for the same.