Hyderabad man, conned by YouTuber and forced on Russia-Ukraine war frontline, dies fighting

The Embassy subsequently confirmed the death on social media platform X (formerly Twitter).

We have learnt about the tragic death of an Indian national Shri Mohammed Asfan. We are in touch with the family and Russian authorities. Mission will make efforts to send his mortal remains to India.@MEAIndia

— India in Russia (@IndEmbMoscow) March 6, 2024

In February, Afsan and the families of several other trapped men claimed that they were lured by a man named Faisal Khan, running a YouTube channel named Baba Vlogs, and his aides Sufiyan, Pooja, Mohammed Moin, and Kushpreet to work as a “Russian Army security helper”.

Hemil Ashwinbhai Mangukiya (23), an Indian man hailing from Gujarat, was reportedly killed last month in an airstrike in the war.

As many as 100 men, including three from Kalaburagi in Karnataka and one from the Narayanpet district in Telangana, were reportedly said to be the victims of the alleged job fraud that landed them on the frontlines of the conflict.

In a new video that came to light on Wednesday, a group of seven men were heard claiming they were being forced by Russia to fight the Ukraine war against their will.

The men could be seen wearing army uniforms while recording the video in a room with a closed window.

Related: How Indian men were trapped into fighting for Russia

From Hyderabad to Russian war front

Afsan was accompanied by two others — a 34-year-old and a 23-year-old hail 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.

The victim’s wife and child, along with his brother Imran. (Supplied)

“The three of them, including my brother, got in touch with Faisal’s aides and told them about the ‘helper’ job,” he added.

He alleged that the conmen took ₹3 lakh from each of the victims, besides added expenses of at least ₹1.05 lakh. “My brother took out a personal loan and did not even inform us till the last moment,” he rued.

Imran had written at least 10 separate “letters of request”  over the past few months to the Union Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar and Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, seeking help to rescue Afsan.

Meanwhile, browsing Khan’s channel on social media, which has over 3 lakh subscribers and 195 videos to date, South First found that he had 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.

“…Either you can opt for military work or go into the Army. But it is no rocket science. You people do not have to fire any weapon or go to the border. I have also confirmed this myself. A person needs at least seven to eight years of experience for military training. You won’t get to the war front with three months’ training,” said the video.

Attempting to sweeten the deal, he added, “You will also get a special card based on which you will get privileges. You can also apply for permanent residency (PR) as you would be helping the government to increase manpower…”

Apart from the promise of avoiding the battlefield, the three victims were promised a ₹50,000 salary for the first three months, which would be hiked to ₹1.95 lakh later, Imran reveals.

Mohammed Afsan. (Supplied)

After landing there, the trio were allegedly made to sign an agreement of confirmation in Russian. When they raised suspicion, the authorities assured them that it was for the same ‘helper’ job that they were promised after which they were taken to a military training camp where they were to be trained to operate weapons by the Russian Army.

“The trio were then packed off to the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don, nearly 100 km from the Ukraine border, in January,” Imran said.

“When they contacted Faisal, he said that they would not go to the border to fight. But then they were taken around 500 km from Moscow and were again given military training there. Again, they questioned the agent about it, but he lied and said that the training was for three months,” Imran added.

The last time the family spoke to Afsanwas on 31 December last year. “He told me that the men there were threatening and forcing him at gunpoint to fight. He even told them about his health issues, but they did not care,” the victim’s distraught wife tells South First.

It was not until one of the three trapped men, who managed to escape, sent home a video — shared with South First by Imran — that action began to bring them back home. The footage vividly portrayed the desperate circumstances and fervently appealed for immediate intervention.

Opinion: Embracing death in a foreign uniform for a few dollars more

What did the MEA say?

Faisal Khan’s aide Sufiyan. (Screengrab)

In February, the MEA said in a statement, “We have seen some inaccurate reports in the media regarding Indians with the Russian army seeking help for discharge. Each and every such case brought to the attention of the Indian embassy in Moscow has been strongly taken up with the Russian authorities and those brought to the attention of the Ministry have been taken up with the Russian embassy in New Delhi.”

The MEA added, “Several Indians have already been discharged as a result.”

Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said New Delhi was in touch with Moscow for early discharge of Indians working as support staff to the Russian army and urged its nationals to stay away from the conflict zone in Ukraine.

“We urge all Indian nationals to exercise due caution and stay away from this conflict,” he had said.