Samarjeet Singh, a 21-year-old from Punjab, has gone missing in Russia, with his family last seeing him dressed in a Russian soldier’s uniform during a video call, according to TOI. Since then, his family has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Ministry of External Affairs, appealing for urgent help to trace him.
The family said that they last spoke to Samarjeet about 10 days ago, and although he “sounded fine”, they suspected he was “trying to hide the situation” as he appeared in uniform during the call, TOI reported.
Samarjeet, however, denied being a part of the conflict with Ukraine, claiming he was attending a medical camp related to his studies. “We asked him to drop everything and come home,” his father, Charanjit Singh, told TOI.
Charanjeet added that his son never had any intention of joining the military, adding that he went there to work and study. The family also thinks that a Russian woman brainwashed him into joining the army.
The family has further claimed that they saw other people as well in the video call, which they think belong to Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab.
Samarjeet pleads for help in viral video
The family said they were shocked when a video clip went viral in which Samarjeet allegedly appealed to the Indian government to rescue Indian youths “forcibly” recruited into the Russian army amid the ongoing war with Ukraine.
The video also shows two other youths who said they were stranded in the conflict zone. They claimed they had been lured with promises of high salaries, but instead found themselves trapped without basic amenities, serving in the army. In the clip, they appealed to people to share the video widely and help them return home.
“We don’t know the reality of that video,” the family said, raising doubts about its authenticity.
Who is Samarjeet Singh?
Samarjeet completed Class XII and holds a diploma, qualifying him as an X-ray technician. He also undertook a three-month Russian language course before moving to Russia in July for higher studies and employment opportunities. His cousin told The Tribune that Samarjeet went there to pursue medicine.
“He had gone with the support of valid documents to Russia, and everything was going well till recently. However, his family was not able to contact the youth for the past about 10 days,” he was further quoted by The Tribune as saying.
His father runs a small grocery shop in the Daba village. The family borrowed heavily, even mortgaging land, to fund Samarjeet’s move abroad.
“He intended to be a worker, not a warrior. We are a simple family, and we don’t know how to navigate these complex situations. We are requesting the government to help us bring our son back as he is innocent and doesn’t deserve to be in such situations,” the father pleaded, per a TOI report.