Four Indians – one man from Telangana and three from Karnataka – have been forcefully drafted in Russia’s Wagner Army, a Times of India report said on Thursday. The men have sent an SOS to their families seeking government intervention for urgent rescue. The report added that it was a a case of fraud job scam. The men were duped by scamsters in Russia on promise of a job opportunity.
The scam came to light after Mohammed Sufiyan, a resident of Telangana, sent a video message to his family. The report said that the small video clipped showed the 22-year-old in military fatigue. He along with three others flew to Russia on December 23 last year. They were promised job of a ‘security helper.’ Instead, they were sent to the frontline to fight the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.
The TOI report said that Sufiyan repeatedly told his family in the video that this was a fraud and they he should be rescued immediately.
How these Indian citizens ended up fighting Russia war?
The TOI report said that the four met a recruiter in Dubai last year. After negotiations, they came back home in November and sent to Russia a month later in December. They undertook the Russia travel on visitor’s visa. The recruiters had promised a lucrative pay package of Rs 2 lakh per month. The family said that these men had paid Rs 3.5 lakh as ‘security deposit’ to the job agents. However, instead of working as security helpers, the men realised that they were duped and drafted in Wagner Group, a private army of Russia. At present, the men are around 40 km away from the Ukraine border.
These are not the only Indian citizens that are stuck at the frontline. The TOI report said that as many as 60 individuals have also been drafted into Wagner Group’s private army. Hyderabad MP and AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi has requested MEA Minister S Jaishankar to rescue these Indian nationals.