Thiruvananthapuram: External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar on Thursday said that tough legal action would be taken against the recruitment agencies that cheat job aspirants with lucrative offers and take them to conflict zones abroad.
The Union Minister said such actions of recruitment agencies was “totally unacceptable” and the government was taking the issue very seriously.
Jaishankar was responding to queries from reporters, during a media interaction here, 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 very 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 totally 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 last two days.
They were recruited into the Russian army by private agencies and were forced to fight against the Ukrainian army in the ongoing war.
After returning to Kerala, they told reporters that they were recruited to the war zone after being told that it was a security personnel job.
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