PRAYAGRAJ, Feb. 22 -- Three men from Uttar Pradesh who allegedly paid Rs 4.5 lakh to a Mumbai-based travel agent for jobs in Saudi Arabia ended up being held captive, starved, and pushed to the brink, police said on Saturday. An FIR has now been registered against the accused. Sufiyan, a resident of Gutauli under Kandhai police station in Pratapgarh, told police he first met the accused, Tabish Sheikh, in February last year when the latter boarded his Uber cab in Mumbai. Tabish introduced himself as a travel agency owner and invited Sufiyan to his office in Nagpada, promising overseas job placements. Sufiyan brought along two acquaintances, Israfil of Karanpur Khunjhi in Pratapgarh and Zakir Hussain of Parsipur in Sultanpur. At the Nagpada office, Tabish introduced them to his associate Mohammad Ayub of Jaunpur district. The three men submitted their documents and transferred a total of Rs 4.50 lakh through UPI transactions to the accused for placement in Saudi Arabia. In April 2025, they were sent to a company in Jeddah. On arrival, the company manager imposed a fine of 20 Riyals and allegedly confined them against their will. During their three-month captivity, the victims were allegedly threatened, denied food, and provoked to take their own lives. Their families, with help from relatives in other Arab cities, reached out to local authorities and the district administration. The three men eventually made it back to Mumbai via Jeddah airport. Two days after returning, the trio confronted Tabish at his office and demanded their money back. The accused allegedly promised to return Rs 2.25 lakh by October, but paid nothing. When pressed for the remaining amount, the victims were allegedly threatened with dire consequences. On Friday, Pratapgarh's Kandhai police registered an FIR against Tabish Sheikh, Abdul Sheikh, and Mohammad Yakub on charges including fraud and attempt to murder. Circle officer (Patti) Manoj Raghuvanshi confirmed the case was registered for fraudulent activities carried out under the guise of overseas employment....