Hyderabad: All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM) president Asaduddin Owaisi questioned India’s external affairs minister on Friday, August 9, regarding steps taken to bring back Indians duped into the Russia-Ukraine war.
Raising concerns on the safety of Indian citizens in Russia, Owaisi asked, “The minister has accepted that there are 69 Indians in Russia; will the Indian embassy in Russia ensure that these people stuck at the Russia-Ukraine border are facilitated and brought to Moscow? Eight Indian citizens have died; two of the boys were from Punjab and Haryana, which was proven by the DNA test; however, their bodies have not been returned. One Kashmiri boy, Zahoor, is missing, and there is no information regarding his whereabouts.”
Pointing out how the Indian men ended up on the Russia-Ukraine border, Owaisi asked, “Does he (Jaishankar) know that a person by the name of Baba vlogs in Dubai, Faisal Khan in Russia, Moin, Ramesh, and Khushpreet are the culprits who are misguiding our youth? Will the government cancel their passports and issue an LOC? If the Russian government is not taking us seriously, will India stop purchasing Russian oil?”
Responding to the queries, the external affairs minister, S. Jaishankar, said, “I will answer the specific questions. Eight Indian nationals unfortunately died while in service with the Russian armed forces. The mortal remains of four deceased have been sent to India with the payment made by the Indian community welfare. In the case of Haryana, the Russian foreign ministry was informed about the death and sought a DNA test report to identify him. The report has been sent to the Russian side, and India is following. In another case of a person from Gujarat, the family wants cremation in Russia, for which the necessary authorisation from the family has been obtained and has been sent to Russia. “
Jaishankar further said, “In a case from Punjab, Russia has requested a DNA sample, which is being provided, and finally, in the 8th case from Uttar Pradesh, the family has wished to have the mortal remains back. It is expected to be brought back.”
Addressing the query on the culprits, the external affairs minister said, “Regarding those involved in trafficking, we will have to go by the findings of the CBI inquiry since that is evidence and legally permissible. There are 19 accused involved, and in each case, an inquiry is going on, along with prosecution for some. I can assure you that the matter has been taken very seriously.”
Regarding negotiations between India and Russia, Jaishankar said, “It would be fair to say that the Prime Minister himself has taken up the matter with the Russian President. The latter has himself given an assurance that we shouldn’t jump the gun and say that the Russians aren’t serious on this matter. It is essential to hold the Russian government to its word. We aren’t here to enter into a debate but to get back those 69 people because Indian citizens shouldn’t be serving in the army of foreign countries.”
It is to be noted that several Indians were duped into the Russia-Ukraine war on the pretext of providing jobs. Initially, they were told that they would be sent to the green zone in Russia as helpers or security officials. However, they were moved to multiple cities and are now being sent to the red zone, which is a war zone.
