"Duped by agent, families worried": Owaisi appeals for safe return of 4 Indians from Russia

Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], October 19 (ANI): All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi appealed to the Indian government on Sunday to bring back the four Indians stuck in Russia and currently forced to be involved in the Russia-Ukraine war. One of the people, Mohammed Ahmed, has also been injured on the frontlines and has sent videos appealing to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) to help with his safe return. 

The Foreign Secretary’s office has assured all possible help and is working to bring the four people back, Owaisi said. 

“There is this youth from Hyderabad who went to Russia and was made to be involved in the Ukraine war and is stranded there. The Foreign Secretary’s office was contacted, and the family got the reply that the person is stuck there and that they are trying to get him back. Today, the family came again, and they got to know that along with Mohammad Ahmed, three other boys – Anup Kumar, Manoj Kumar, and Sumit Kumar – are also there. Two of them are from Haryana, one is from Rajasthan,” Owaisi told ANI here.

According to the AIMIM chief, the men were duped and made to sign a contract under the false pretence of a job. He appealed to the Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri and the Indian Embassy in Russia to facilitate their safe return. 

“The four men are stuck in a region there. They had been made to sign a contract and do work there. Whenever they get a signal, they send videos and ask for help. I appeal to our Foreign Minister Jaishankar, Foreign Secretary and the Indian Embassy in Russia to bring them back on humanitarian grounds. They have been trapped there by being lied to, the family is very worried”, he said. 

Arshiya Begum, wife of Mohammed Ahmed, claimed that her husband was promised a job in construction, but when he reached Russia, he was made to sign a contract to work for the Russian army. She further said that a person named “Adil” from a “trusted consultancy” had helped them and had promised them a Permanent Residency (PR). However, when Ahmed reached Russia, he lost contact with the alleged agent. 

“For completing the process of going there, he had been assisted by someone named Adil from a trusted consultancy. He had been promised a Permanent Residency (PR), job in construction, labour. He was sent to Russia, was told a good salary package, and was told that he will get permanent residency when he goes there,” Arshiya Begum told ANI.  

She mentioned that her husband had tried to get another job but was not given any other opportunity, and was ultimately told that he would be digging bunkers for the Russian army on the frontlines.   

“He tried very hard to get another job, but no one responded. He had been made to sign a contract with the Russian Army, but he does not know Russian, and he was told that he would get a job to dig bunkers, as he was told that that was also construction work. He also accepted thinking he got the job in the Army. He thought that he would get some cooking work or something. When his first video came, asking for help, his leg had been injured. He said clearly and requested the Indian government to get him out of Russia and save him,” she said. 

According to MEA, there are 127 Indian nationals in the Russian armed forces, out of which 98 have had their service discontinued “as a result of sustained engagement between the Indian and Russian Governments on this matter.”

“The Russian authorities concerned have been urged to provide an update on all the remaining/missing individuals, and also ensure their safety, well-being and early discharge. For those Indian nationals in the Russian armed forces whose services have been discontinued, the Indian Mission/Posts in Russia assisted them in their return to India, including through facilitation of travel documents and providing air tickets, wherever required”, the MEA informed the Rajya Sabha on July 24 in response to a question by MP Sant Balbir Singh. 

The MEA has taken up the matter with Russian authorities over the past year, asking for the practice of recruiting Indians to be stopped and the people to be released, according to an official statement on September 11. (ANI)