New Delhi: Seven more Indians who came to Russia on tourist visa and were forced to do military service in the war zone have sought help from the central government. They had released a video showing that they were undergoing compulsory military service at the Russia-Ukraine border. Please help to return to India.
Gagandeep Singh (24), Lovepreet Singh (24), Narine Singh (22), Gurpreet Singh (21), Gurpreet Singh (23), Harsh Kumar (20) and Abhishek Kumar (21) are in Russia. Five are from Punjab and two from Haryana.
They came to Russia on tourist visas. However, they were arrested by the police on the grounds that they did not have sufficient documents and were forced to work as assistants in the army. He was threatened with imprisonment for 10 years if he did not do military service.
At first it was said that it is enough to work as assistants. However, later they were sent to the border of Ukraine with weapons training etc. They said in the video that the phones were seized by the Russian army.
The Ministry of External Affairs had earlier confirmed that 12 Indians were trapped in the Russian war zone. It is reported that they were forced to join Wagner's army and be a part of the occupation. It is after this that information comes out that more Indians are being forced into military service.
In February, the Ministry of External Affairs had announced that efforts had been made to release Indians who had come to work in Russia and were forced to do military service. The Ministry also requested the Russian authorities to immediately release those who were recruited as auxiliaries in the Russian army.