At least 66 Indians are enrolled in the Russian army which is at war with Ukraine while 13 Indians have left so far, external affairs minister S. Jaishankar has said in Parliament.

Responding to questions raised by Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi on Indians in the Russian Army, Jaishankar on Friday did not rule out the presence of more Indians in the Russian Army.

“While the exact number of such Indian nationals is not known, information currently available indicates that 13 Indian nationals have already left the Russian armed forces while another 66 individuals are seeking early discharge,” said Jaishanker.

Darjeeling Congress leader Munish Tamang had flagged off the issue of Kalimpong resident Urgen Tamang who had allegedly been duped into joining the Russian Army in January before the party leadership recently.

“I drew the attention of our INC leadership seeking intervention of LOP Rahul Gandhi ji in the matter. I thank Gaurav Gogoi ji for raising this matter in the Parliament and hope that GoI will find an early solution,” stated Tamang in a social media post.

Jaishankar said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had reiterated the urgent need for early release of all Indians from the Russian armed forces during his visit to Russia in July.

Rabi Pradhan, chairman of the board of administrators, Kalimpong municipality, who is in touch with Urgen in Russia, said they had spoken on a video call on Friday night.

“An official of the external affairs department is now in touch with Urgen. I understand that efforts are underway to rescue all 66 individuals together,” Pradhan told The Telegraph adding that Urgen was still on the battlefront.

The Kalimpong resident, who retired from the Indian Army in 2018, said he was posted with the second battalion of the 144 brigade of the Russian Army.

Gogoi also raised in the House the issue of fraudulent agents.

Jaishankar said “expeditious and decisive action” was initiated by the ministry whenever complaints of illegal migration or human trafficking were received on the e-migrate portal”.

“A total of 3,042 illegal agents have been notified on the portal till June 2024,” stated Jaishankar.

Urgen, who is in his forties, had left for Russia on January 18. He had sent out an SOS to the Indian government on March 20 to rescue him before he was sent to the frontlines to fight Ukraine.