Stowaway released from jail, happy to be back home

Stowaway Habib Husain, who hid in a toilet on an Air India Haj charter flight from Saudi Arabia, on Saturday walked free after his release from the central jail in Jaipur and said he was happy to be back home.

"I am really happy after returning to my country. I am happy to be back home. I want to meet my family," said 25-year-old Hussain, who was released on bail.

A local court had on Thursday granted bail to Hussain but he could not be released the same day following non-execution of the order from the court of Judicial Magistrate, Sanganer.

The order could not be executed by the jail authorities yesterday as it came late. After his release, Hussain said he was facing a lot of hardships in Saudi Arabia. "There are plenty of problems there," he said.

Before leaving for his home in Moradabad in Uttar Pradesh along with his relatives who had come here, Hussain said he will never think about Saudi Arabia again and thanked God for his homecoming.

Habib, who was working as a cleaner at Medina airport with a Saudi Ground handling company, was arrested here last month and booked under Passport Act for boarding the flight on December 25 without ticket and valid travel documents.