A students’ body from Jammu and Kashmir has flagged concern that a Kashmiri has allegedly been conned into fighting for the Russian army against Ukraine after being promised jobs and has suffered injuries in the war, urging the central government to come to his aid.
The association said another Kashmiri too had been reported missing in Russia.
The Jammu and Kashmir Students Association (JKSA) said in a statement that it had written to external affairs minister S. Jaishankar, requesting the two be repatriated.
The association has identified the two men as Azad Yusuf Kumar, in his 30s, from Pulwama’s Awantipora and Zahoor Ahmad Sheikh from Kupwara’s Tangdhar. The JKSA’s claim could not be independently confirmed.
A spokesman for the association said Azad had fallen victim to a fraudulent recruitment scheme and been forcibly deployed with the Russian army without his consent.
The association quoted Azad’s family as saying he had been lured by a YouTuber who promised him a job in Dubai.
“The ordeal began when Azad came across a YouTube channel named ‘Baba Vlogs’ operated by a consultant named Faisal Khan based in Dubai. Faisal purported to offer job opportunities in cooking and cleaning, which align with Azad’s skills. Azad travelled from Mumbai to Sharjah, where he was then provided tickets to Moscow, Russia,” the association said in a statement.
“Upon arrival in Russia, Azad and his companions were made to sign agreements written in Russian, despite not understanding the language and requesting assistance. They were subsequently handed over to the Russian army, where they underwent a 15-day training before being deployed to the Ukraine border.”
The spokesman said Azad had suffered injuries and was currently stranded at the Russia-Ukraine border. “The family has provided documentation of the signed agreement in Russian, Azad’s current location, his photograph, and his IMO (International Maritime Organisation) number, which he has been using to contact them intermittently,” the spokesman said.
Azad’s family is distraught at this “deception” and is fervently pleading for his safe return, the JKSA said.
The association said Zahoor, a resident of Hajinar in the Tangdhar area of Kupwara, has also been reported missing in Russia.
Zahoor, according to the association, worked in a private company in Chandigarh and had travelled to Russia in December last year. He was reportedly accompanied by Arbaab from Uttar Pradesh and Asfaan from Hyderabad.
The JKSA said Zahoor’s sudden disappearance needed to be urgently addressed by the external affairs ministry.
A ministry spokesman recently urged Indians to “stay away” from the Russia-Ukraine conflict after reports said some of them had been signed up for “support jobs” in Russia.
“We are aware that a few Indian nationals have signed up for support jobs with the Russian army. The Indian embassy has regularly taken up this matter with the relevant Russian authorities for their early discharge. We urge all Indian nationals to exercise due caution and stay away from this conflict,” the external affairs ministry spokesperson, Randhir Jaiswal, said on Friday.
The ministry said it had asked Russia for the early release of Indian nationals working in “support jobs” for the Russian army.
There are reports that some men from Karnataka and Telangana have also been conned into fighting for the Russian army.
