A day after the report emerged that several Indians had been allegedly duped into joining the military service in Russia, the Indian foreign affairs ministry confirmed that some Indians had indeed become part of the Russia-Ukraine war.
India’s foreign affairs ministry said on Friday (Feb 23) in an official statement that the government is currently coordinating with the Russian side to facilitate the release of these citizens.
Earlier, a report claimed that dozens of Indians were promised support jobs inside the Russian territory but were enlisted in the Russian military by fraudulent travel agents. They reportedly received misleading translations of the documents and underwent military training against their understanding.
Also watch | WION speaks to an Indian student living in Ukraine amid the Russian invasion
“We are aware that a few Indian nationals have signed up for support jobs with the Russian army. The Indian Embassy has regularly taken up this matter with the relevant Russian authorities for their early discharge. We urge all Indian nationals to exercise due caution and stay away from this conflict,” Randhir Jaiswal, External Affairs Ministry’s spokesperson said in a statement on Friday (Feb 23).
A day earlier (Feb 22), members of the family of one of the men, Sufiyan sought the intervention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government. Sufiyan’s family first approached the Member of Parliament from India’s Hyderabad Asaduddin Owaisi, and together they called upon the Modi government and External Affairs Ministry to ensure the safe return of the trapped Indian nationals.
A video was sent by Sufiyan to his family in which he was seen in army fatigue and claimed that they had been a victim of recruitment fraud.
They also called upon the government to take action against the fraudulent immigration agents responsible for the entire row.
“They are not contacting their families for 25 days,” the Indian parliamentarian Owaisi wrote in a letter addressed to the External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar.
Their families are very much worried about them and are intending they return them to India, as they are the only bread earners of their families, Owaisi added.
(With inputs from agencies)
