Shabin Rasheed, the owner of Sharjah-based Baitul Ateeq travel agency, has been arrested by the Dubai Police in connection with a Haj pilgrimage racket. Rasheed, an Indian expat, is accused of defrauding around 150 individuals based in the UAE who had paid for the Haj pilgrimage but were unable to undertake it. Despite making full upfront payments, the victims lost millions of dirhams when Baitul Ateeq failed to fulfill its commitments.
Initially, Rasheed cited a last-minute change in visa issuance as the reason for the problems and promised refunds. However, as time passed without any refunds and similar complaints from previous years emerged, more people filed complaints, leading to his arrest.
Those who had filed police complaints against Baitul Ateeq received notifications of the arrest from the Dubai Police and via WhatsApp messages from a company representative. The exact number of police complaints and the extent of partial refunds are not immediately clear. While Rasheed claimed to have refunded 20 individuals, he did not provide any evidence or contact information, leaving many claimants frustrated.
The case has raised concerns among victims who have paid for the Haj pilgrimage through Baitul Ateeq in recent years, as the promised refunds never materialized, even when the Saudi government barred foreign pilgrims from participating in Haj due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
