Four youths from India have sent an SOS to the Indian government as they are stranded in Russia along the war-torn Ukraine border. A 22-year-old youth from Telangana and three others from Karnataka's Kalaburagi are victims of a fake job racket.
According to a report by The Times of India, Mohammed Sufiyan, hailing from Narayanpet district in Telangana, pleaded for help in a video sent to his family. Clad in an army uniform, he stated that they were being coerced to fight in Russia's ongoing war with Ukraine against their will.
The report reveals that Sufiyan and the others arrived in Russia last December, lured by recruiters promising army security helper positions. They had their first engagement in Dubai with agents who promised lucrative salaries before boarding a flight from Chennai. They were taken there on visitor visas.
Before going to Russia, they were earning Rs. 30,000 to Rs. 40,000 per month in Dubai. The agents enticed them with salaries ranging from Rs. 2 lakhs, according to a source. The agents in Dubai took Rs. 3.5 lakh each from the youth for the promised security personnel/helper jobs.
Families now suspect they have been recruited into the Wagner Group, a private army allegedly funded by the Russian government to fight on the frontline in Ukraine.
AIMIM President and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi requested Dr. S. Jaishankar, Minister of External Affairs, to bring back the stranded victims as their lives are at risk. "Sir @DrSJaishankar kindly use your good offices to bring these men back home. Their lives are at risk & their families are justifiably worried," Owaisi tweeted.
Over the past year, around 100 Indians were recruited by the Russian Army at its Moscow center, an official said. The Hindu first reported on February 20 that at least three Indians hired as army security helpers were forced to fight alongside Russia on the Russia-Ukraine border.