Abdul Raheem's Rs 34 cr fundraiser story to be made into movie

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: After Keralites joined hands to contribute Rs 34 crore blood money to save Abdu Raheem from death sentence in Saudi Arabia, a film on the events has been announced. Shaji Mathew, a Malayali from Delhi, is producing the film. Shaji Mathew said that Rs 34 crores of virtue is the real story of Kerala. Shaji Mathew is the producer of the movies 'Oralpokkam' and 'Ozhivudivasathe Kali'.

In 2006, Abdul Raheem, a resident of Feroke's Kodampuzha, was sentenced to death by a Saudi court for the death of 15-year-old Saudi citizen Anas Alshahri. Abdul Raheem was 24 years old then. Raheem was the caretaker of Anas who was unable to move below his head. Anas is the son of Raheem's sponsor, Fayiz Abdullah. In December 2006, on the 28th day of his arrival in Saudi Arabia on a driver's visa, Abdul Raheen was driving to a hypermarket with Anas when the life-changing incident took place.

Raheem didn't pay heed to Anas' request to drive the vehicle by violating traffic rules. After this, Anas spat on Raheem's face. While trying to stop this, Raheem's hand hit the life support device around Anas's neck, which resulted in his death. Abdul Raheem called Mohammad Nazeer, his cousin in and both informed the police about this. The court sentenced Raheem to death and Nazeer to ten years in prison. Nazeer returned home after his sentence. After prolonged requests, Anas' family demanded an amount of 15 million Riyals (Rs. 34 crores) for the release of Abdul Raheem.