Hyderabad: Amidst the ongoing Russian-Ukraine war, some Indians hailing from various parts of the country, including Telangana, have been fraudulently recruited to fight along with the Russian army in the warzone.
Among them, many were based in the Gulf from where they came into contact with some Indian social media influencers who lured them by offering attractive salaries and promised them as non-combatant roles.
Mohammed Sufiyan, a native of Narayanapeat district in Telangana, was earning a monthly salary of 1500 Dirhams (an equivalent of approximately Rs 33,000) in Dubai. He was lured by agents by offering him USD 3600 a month.
He, along with his other three colleagues from neighbouring Karnataka, who were working together in Dubai, also believed the fraudulent agent came to India only to travel to Russia.
However, upon reaching there, they were allegedly forced into fighting along with the army. Interestingly, the agents who lured the youth were also Indians.
“We have been waiting to know the whereabouts and well-being of Sufiyan,” said Abdul Azeem, the family’s neighbour in Narayanapeat.
He added that Sufiyan was brainwashed in Dubai by the agent who hid the entire plan from the family.
While looking for employment opportunities abroad, another youth Mohammed Asfan, 30, of Bazarghat in Hyderabad along with his two friends — Arbab Husain and Zahoor Ahmed — also fell into the trap of fraudulent agents and went to Russia to be stuck in a warzone.
The families of stranded youth have sought assistance from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), desperately waiting for any updates about their loved ones. However, among the stranded Indians, a young man, Shaikh Mohammed Tahir, 24, a resident of Ahmedabad, Gujarat managed to return home, according to reports.
However, many others remain trapped or missing in Russia, leaving their families in a state of anguish and uncertainty.
The matter came to the fore following a letter written by Asaduddin Owaisi, Hyderabad MP, to the external affairs ministry.
“We remain committed, as a matter of top priority, to actively pursuing with the Russian authorities all the relevant cases of Indian nationals for an early discharge from the Russian army,” the MEA spokesperson said in New Delhi on Monday.
New Delhi has been maintaining a strategic balance in its ties with Moscow and Ukraine ally Washington DC.
