Reports have surfaced alleging that a Kerala businessman operating from Dubai arranged air tickets and covered food and accommodation expenses to send his employees to a protest in Delhi.
The protest at Jantar Mantar demanded the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the NEET question paper leak issue. The agitation continued for more than 20 days, and violence reportedly broke out on July 20, leaving over 100 personnel, including police and paramilitary staff, injured.
Following the violence, information about the backgrounds of some participants began to emerge. The report claims that more than 2,500 participants had criminal records, and that among 989 people involved in the violence, 101 were allegedly accused in murder cases. It also alleges that some individuals joined under the guise of students.
Amid these claims, a Dubai-headquartered logistics firm, Abraco Freight Company, is said to have sent 23 Malayali employees to India to take part in the protest. The company’s owner, identified as Mohamed Shaji from Nilambur, allegedly paid for their travel and living expenses and asked them to stay in Delhi until the protests ended.
However, the report says the protest concluded on the same afternoon the employees arrived in Delhi, and a celebratory selfie photo of the group later circulated on social media and was also reported by Mathrubhumi. The episode has triggered online questions about why a foreign-based company would sponsor participation in a NEET-related protest, with calls for intelligence agencies to investigate the matter.
