Forty five Indians who were illegally made to join the Russian army and fight for them on the battle fronts against Ukraine have been rescued from the war zone and discharged from the Russian military, the Ministry of External Affairs said.
There are 50 more Indian nationals still on battlefields in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, and efforts are underway to rescue them and get them released too, the spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs added.
During Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent visit to Moscow, Russian President Vladimir had assured Modi that Russia will discharge any and all Indians who had been misled and falsely inducted in the Russian Army and subsequently forced to go the battlefields in Ukraine.
A human trafficking network extending from New Delhi to Tamil Nadu used social media platforms and local agents to lure people to Russia by offering them lucrative jobs or admission to what Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) called "dubious private universities".
Once they reached Russia, however, the victims' passports were taken and they were trained in combat roles before being deployed at the front. Roughly hundred Indian nationals find themselves trapped in this situation and at least four Indians have been killed in the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Police in India have arrested at least four people involved in the job racket.
A viral video earlier this year showed a group of men from Punjab and Haryana - wearing army uniforms - claiming they were tricked into fighting the war in Ukraine and doubling down on their request for help.
New Delhi has said that every case brought to its attention is being "strongly taken up" with Russia to ensure the "early discharge" of stranded people, and 10 Indians have been brought back as part of this effort so far.
Foreign Minister S Jaishankar said that the "toughest legal action" will be taken against agents who duped students from Kerala into fighting for Russia in its war against Ukraine. "It is totally unacceptable that any Indian should be taken to a conflict zone and in any manner be made to work for a conflict, for an army...," Jaishankar had said earlier this year.
