A 30-year-old Indian national, who was allegedly duped into joining the Russian Army, died during the country’s ongoing war with Ukraine.
A 30-year-old man from Hyderabad, who was allegedly forced to join the Russian Army after falling prey to a job fraud, was killed in the country’s ongoing war with Ukraine, officials said on Wednesday.
The family of the youth, identified as Mohammed Asfan, reached out to AIMIM chief and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi seeking assistance in bringing him back from Russia. However, when AIMIM contacted the Indian Embassy in Moscow, officials confirmed that Asfan had died.
The youth is survived by his wife and two children.
Reacting to the incident, the Indian Embassy in Moscow took to X (formerly known as Twitter) and said that authorities are in touch with Asfan’s family to send his mortal remains to India.
“We have learnt about the tragic death of an Indian national Shri Mohammed Asfan. We are in touch with the family and Russian authorities. Mission will make efforts to send his mortal remains to India,” it wrote.
Asfan, along with several others, was allegedly misled by deceptive agents who recruited them as ‘helpers’ to assist the Russian Army in the war.
The recent fatality comes weeks after a 23-year-old Indian man from Gujarat, who was working as a ‘helper’ with the Russian Army during its ongoing war with Ukraine, died in Russia.
The man, identified as Hamil Mangukiya from Surat, had applied for a job in Russia through an online advertisement and reached Moscow from Chennai. He was then recruited as an assistant in the Russian Army.
Mangukiya was killed in an airstrike by Ukraine on February 21 in the Donetsk region of the Russia-Ukraine border.
Several Indians have been duped into working as security helpers in the Russian military, with media reports indicating that some are being forced to fight with Ukrainian soldiers in border areas.