The group has been denied re-entry to Kuwait but have now approached SushmaEleven Mangalureans who were picked by the Kuwait State Security Department, a special police wing of Kuwait, 10 days after they performed Satyanarayana Puja at a hall belonging to the Friends of Kannur Expats Association (FOKE) at Mangaf in Kuwait have been deported to India. While they are clueless on the exact reason why they were picked up, a few members have already met minister for External Affairs Sushma Swaraj asking for a visa so that they can return to work.Speaking to reporters in Mangaluru on Monday, Purushotttam Kukyan said, “We are still not sure why we were picked up by the police. It was reported in some sections of the media it was because we had not taken permission to perform the puja and played loud music. Some alleged that we were picked after the police suspected that we were into black magic and religious conversion. The fact remains that through the Navachethana Welfare Association – a social service association in Kuwait – we have been performing such pujas since 2011, the year the organisation was inaugurated, and since then we have never taken permission since it is being held in a closed hall. Several organisations and people from different states perform such pujas. In case it was being held outdoors, permission would certainly be needed. We were also not picked on the day the puja was performed, but almost 10 days later. We suspect that we were falsely charged by some unknown persons,” he said.The members who have been deported from Kuwait have been identified as Yadav Poojary, Ashok Salian, Sathish, Anil Shetty, Kumar Poojary, Prashanth Shetty, Umesh Shetty, Arun Shetty, Purushotham Kukyan, Jayakrishna Alva and Santhosh Rai. While Santhosh Rai worked as a painting inspector and Ashok Salian worked a mechanical foreman, rest of the members are employed in the catering company Damac. Ashok Salian is the president of the Navachethana Association and he, along with Santhosh Rai, met the union minister as well as MPs Nalin Kumar Kateel and Shobha Kharandlaje. These men had left behind their families in Mangaluru and Udupi.Recalling what had happened in Kuwait, the members said that the annual Sathyanarayana Puja was held on Oct 16 in which nearly 170 Indians along with their families had participated. Ramachandra Sharma, an engineer from Andhra Pradesh, had led the puja rituals. The puja was being performed at a hall located in the basement. Since 2011, the venue has not changed and former minister Nagaraj Shetty has also visited the place. Almost 10 days after the puja was performed, Yadav Poojary, a member of the Navachethan Association, was called by the HR head of his company. The company hands over his passport and he is sent with the police – whom the deportees refer to as CID of Kuwait. Yadav was probably picked because it was his number that was in the invite and shared on association’s Facebook page and WhatsApp group.The same night, Ashok Salian, president of the association, was also picked. Five days later, all the nine members were picked. All of them where holding one post or the other in the association. They were taken to an undisclosed locations blindfolded and hands tied. There was no news about them. The police did not tell them why they were picked. Since they did not get any positive response from the Indian Embassy in Kuwait due to lack of information, other social workers contacted the MPS Nalin Kumar Kateel and Shobha Karandlaje who in turn took up the issue with the Ministry of External Affairs that things started moving. The embassy too failed to provide the reason for the arrest.When in the police custody, they were asked for clarification about the puja observed on Oct 16. “We suspect that this could be a result of some internal conflict that false information was given. All the 11 were interrogated separately. No case has been registered against us. We were shown the picture of a God and asked to explain about it. Questions revolved around how and why the puja was performed. The company they were working for also did not interfere. The investigation officers found that the 11 of them had no previous criminal records and could not find any links and they were deported to India. Before reaching India, they were sent to the deportation centre, locally known as Talha Prison. During the process of being sent to the undisclosed location, they managed to get in touch with their families. Some of them spent seven days in the undisclosed location and another seven days at the deportation centre. While, on November 13, nine members reached India, two of them arrived on November 17.At the jail, a representative from the Indian Embassy arrived. He too maintained that he was not aware why were they picked. The jailor too gave no information. “We have done no wrong. We want to go back to Kuwait. All of us have put in 15-20 years of service. We cannot even get our luggage back,” maintained the deportees.One of deportees recently bought a Toyota Prado and wants to go back to at least sell the same. Speaking about the life in the jail, they said they were looked after really well. In the undisclosed location, they were made to stay separately. The food was good and one of them cherishes the tasty biryani they were offered. Medical facilities offered were also excellent, said another.