- Tuesday, February 25, 2025
The men even paid the agents £2,863 each for the ‘high-paying’ jobs of security guards in Russia.
By: Shubham Ghosh
AT LEAST 10 young men who went to Russia from various corners of India on the pretext of getting good salaries for the job of security guards, have now found their lives at risk as they are being forced to fight for the country in the ongoing war in Ukraine.
According to reports, the men were not only duped in terms of the employment they were signing up for but also paid Rs 3 lakh (£2,863) each to the agent who sent them to Russia.
The men, along with their families, are believed to be fighting in Ukraine as part of Wagner Group, a mercenary body, have appealed to India’s ministry of external affairs (MEA) to help them return home. Asaduddin Owaisi, a parliamentarian from the southern Indian city of Hyderabad, has also made a similar appeal.
A minister in the southern state of Karnataka has said its government will take up the matter with the MEA.
On Thursday (22), one of the youngsters from Hyderabad who found himself stranded in Russia, sent a video from that country telling his family that he and several others had been cheated by the agent and requested them to do something for their return.
The father of one of the youngsters said at least 10-12 men from the states of Karnataka, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh and others were duped, NDTV reported. One of them from Kashmir was even injured after he was hit by a bullet in his leg.
Some of the youngsters used to work in Dubai and they went to Russia after the agent promised them high-paying security jobs and they paid them Rs 3 lakh each. The family member of one of those youth said they have no complaint against the Russian government or its army and were only requesting to send their boys back.
Priyank Kharge, a minister in Karnataka, said his government would do its best to bring the young men back. He said not only those from Karnataka but everyone who were duped into waging the war would be saved.
Owaisi said he wrote to external affairs minister Subrahmanyam Jaishnakar and sought his help in getting the Indians back home. The MP has said at least a dozen Indians, including three from the state of Telangana, had been duped by the agent and forced to take part in the war which completed two years this month.
