Reports that Russian mercenary groups may have recruited Indians and funnelled them into the Ukraine war have deepened concerns over their well-being.

The external affairs ministry on Friday cautioned Indians against agents offering support jobs with the Russian army, warning that “this is fraught with danger and risk to life”.

The ministry’s appeal comes as the government grapples with SOS calls without having a clear idea of the numbers of Indians who may need to be evacuated or their whereabouts.

The ministry has stuck to the figure provided last week of around 20 Indians duped into fighting Russia’s war against Ukraine, plus the seven who put out a video seeking help earlier this week.

However, CBI raids on Thursday on “human trafficking networks” revealed that one of these agencies had sent as many as 180 Indians to Russia on student visas. How many of them have been forced into combat is unclear.

Despite the good relations with Russia, sources said, what has complicated the task of responding to the SOS calls is that some of the Indians may have been recruited not by the Russian army but by mercenary groups.

“We have strongly taken up the matter with the Russian government for early discharge of such Indian nationals (duped into working with the Russian army),” ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal told reporters during a briefing.

To a question on these Indians’ whereabouts, Jaiswal said that discharges had been secured for some of them with the help of the Russian government and efforts were on to get the rest released.

On the video of seven Indians who apparently entered Russia on tourist visas and claim to have been forced to fight Ukrainian forces, he said efforts were on to establish contact with them.

The government hopes to gain a better idea of the numbers of Indians involved and their whereabouts from Thursday’s CBI crackdown on human trafficking networks across seven cities. Agency teams raided nearly 20 places in Delhi, Mumbai, Thiruvananthapuram, Chandigarh, Ambala, Madurai and Chennai.

According to the CBI, these traffickers represent an organised network luring Indians through social media channels, such as YouTube, and their local contacts and agents with promises of well-paid jobs or university admission in Russia.

“The trafficked Indians were trained in combat roles and deployed at front bases in the Russia-Ukraine war zone against their wishes, thus putting their lives in grave danger,” a CBI spokesperson said.

“It has been ascertained that some of the victims also got grievously injured in the war zone.”

The probe suggests that several Indian students were lured with promises of admission to (dubious) private universities in Russia, buttressed by offers of discounts on various fees.

“It has been learnt that on reaching Russia, the passports of these Indian nationals were taken or snatched by agents in Russia. They were trained in combat roles and provided with Russian army uniforms and badges,” a CBI official said.

One Delhi-based agency allegedly sent around 180 people to Russia, mostly on student visas. A probe is on to ascertain how many of the 180 were deployed illegally in the war zone.

The CBI spokesperson said the accused agencies include, among others, M/s 24x7 RAS Overseas Foundation, KG Marg, New Delhi, and its director Suyash Mukut; M/s O.S.D Bros Travels & Visa Services Pvt Ltd, Mumbai, and its director Rakesh Pandey; M/s Adventure Visa Services Pvt Ltd, Chandigarh, Punjab, and its director Manjeet Singh; and Baba Vlogs Overseas Recruitment Solutions Pvt Ltd, Dubai, and its director Faisal Abdul Mutalib Khan.