Hyderabad youth allegedly duped into fighting for Russia

Sufiyan's family pleads for safe evacuation of stranded youths in Russia and action against agents.

Hyderabad: Mohammad Sufiyan, from Hyderabad, is one of the many youths who were allegedly duped by some agents and drafted into fighting for Russia in the ongoing conflict against Ukraine.

Sufiyan’s family has urged the central government as well as the Ministry of External Affairs to safely evacuate the youths trapped in Russia and also take strict action against the agents.

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All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) MP Asaduddin Owaisi has also pointed out the issue and urged the Centre to talk with the Russian government and bring back the youths.

“The Narendra Modi government should hold talks with the Russian government and bring back the 12 youths trapped in the Russia-Ukraine war,” AIMIM posted on X.

Imran, the brother of Sufiyan, told ANI about all the events that happened.

“My brother was taken by Baba Blocks Company, which has offices in Dubai, Delhi, and Mumbai. The first batch went out on November 12, 2023. A total of 21 youths were sent and Rs 3 lakh was taken from each one of them. They were made to sign an agreement in Russia on November 13,” he said.

He said that the agents told the youth that they would get the job as army helpers, but were eventually drafted into the army and were deployed inside the Ukrainian borders.

“The agents gave the wrong translations of the documents to them. They were told that it is the job of army helpers. But, two days later, they were taken for military training. Even when the youths protested, the Indian agents again misguided them, saying that it was only part of the training and they wouldn’t be sent to the frontlines,” Imran said.

He added, “After multiple rounds of training, they were taken near the Ukraine border for training. The distressed youths told the agents that their lives were in danger, but the agents again lied that it was part of training and they would be brought back to Moscow.

Imran further said that a total of nine Indian youths are inside the Ukrainian borders and he has not been able to contact his brother since January 1.

He also said that his brother and two more youths have sustained bullet injuries and are not even able to walk.
Pointing out that they have not been given any assistance or concrete help, he urged the External Affairs Ministry to help them secure the release of youths trapped there.

“We have requested at the Embassy, but there has been no response for over a month. We have written multiple letters to the Ministry of External Affairs as well, but have not got any response. We received a response from the ‘MADAD’ portal that the documents have been sent to Russian authorities and their response is awaited,” Imran said.

“Now, only the government and the External Affairs Ministry can help us. We would like to urge the government to evacuate the youths stuck there and then take strict action against these agents,” he added.