The youth were recruited into the Russian army by private agencies and were forced to fight against the Ukrainian army.
Published Apr 05, 2024 | 12:46 PM ⚊ Updated Apr 05, 2024 | 12:46 PM
EAM Jaishankar
External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar on Thursday, 4 April, said that tough legal action would be initiated against recruitment agencies that cheat job aspirants with lucrative offers and take them to conflict zones abroad.
The minister said such actions of recruitment agencies were “totally unacceptable” and the government was taking the issue seriously.
Jaishankar was responding to reporters during a media interaction in Thiruvananthapuram, on bringing back Indians, including some Keralites, who were lured to fight in the Russia-Ukraine war by recruitment agencies under the pretext of lucrative jobs.
“This is a matter of strong concern for us,” he said.
The minister said two persons from Kerala were brought back, and the government was in touch with the Russian diplomats to ensure the safe return of the remaining people.
“This is unacceptable that any Indian should be taken to a conflict zone and, in any manner, be made to work for an army in a conflict. This is something which we treat very seriously,” he said, adding that there will be the toughest legal action against the agents involved in the illegal recruitment of youth to conflict zones.
Prince and David Muthappan were the two Thiruvananthapuram residents who returned to Kerala from Russia in the past two days.
Prince returned to Kerala on 3 April, he told reporters he didn’t know the whereabouts of Tinu and Vineeth — the two other individuals who, along with him, were conned by a recruiting agency into going to Russia and made to join the army.
He added that he was provided with 23 days of arms training, and then told to fight against Ukraine.
They were recruited into the Russian army by private agencies and were forced to fight against the Ukrainian army in the ongoing war.
Anchuthengu Grama Panchayat president V Laiju told South First earlier that the agent who tricked the youths also collected ₹7 lakh from each of them.
The families said the “agent” — whom they identified as Alex, the alleged go-between who conned the trio — was a native of Thumba in Thiruvananthapuram and was living in Russia.
They alleged that Alex and his relative Priyan — a resident of Kazhakkoottam in Thiruvananthapuram — had lured the youths to Russia promising jobs in the security sector and at a packing unit with good pay packages.
It was hardly the first time an incident like this had surfaced in recent times.
Barely a month before Prince’s plight came to light, it emerged that a YouTuber had allegedly conned a few men from Hyderabad into going to Russia, where they were made to fight against Ukraine.
On 6 March, the news of the death of Mohammed Afsan reached Hyderabad. It was said, he had died in the Russia-Ukraine war while allegedly fighting for the Kremlin.
The 30-year-old Afsan was accompanied by two others — a 34-year-old and a 23-year-old hailing from Kasganj in Uttar Pradesh and Kupwara in Jammu & Kashmir, respectively.
The three set off together for Moscow from Chennai via Sharjah in the UAE in November last year.
“All of them reached Russia on 12 November last year after getting in touch with Baba Vlogs’ Faisal Khan. He runs an office in Dubai, while his aides Sufiyan and Pooja operate from an office in Mumbai,” Afsan’s brother Imran told South First earlier.
Khan’s YouTube channel posted a video titled “Russia 🇷🇺 Army Jobs | Helper Jobs | Easy Move Schengen” on 26 September last year, along with Sufiyan’s and Pooja’s contact numbers.
In the nearly-six-minute-long video, Faisal Khan urged people to come to Russia, where they would work as government officials.
In that instance, a case was registered under Sections 370 (trafficking), 374 (unlawful compulsory labour), 367 (kidnapping to subject a person to grievous hurt), 363 (punishment for kidnapping), 406 (criminal breach of trust), 420 (cheating), 120B (party to criminal conspiracy), and 34 (criminal act done by several persons out of the common intention) of the Indian Penal Code.
(Edited by Sumavarsha Kandula. With PTI inputs).
