Hyderabad, March 7: A man from Hyderabad has been killed after being duped into joining Russian army’s war against Ukraine.
A pall of gloom descended on the house of Mohammed Asfan (30) in Bazar Ghat after an official of the Indian Embassy in Moscow informed the family of his death.
“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,” the embassy said.
The family, which has been hoping for some good news from Russia for the last few weeks, was shocked on learning about his death. He is survived by wife and two children – an eight-month-old daughter and two-year-old son.
The family has demanded the authorities to show proof of Asfan’s death. His brother Imran said recruiting agents informed him that his brother is alive. After being duped by the agents, the family is not ready to believe their word without any proof.
Afsan, a commerce graduate who was working in a cloth store in Hyderabad, was living with his wife, children, three brothers and father.
He along with two others went to Moscow from Chennai via Sharjah in November last year after they were promised jobs of helpers in the Russian army. Each of them paid Rs.3.5 lakh to the agents.
They were promised Rs.30,000 a month initially. The agent had also told them that they would later get Rs.1.5 lakh. However, on landing in Russia they were forced to join the army and sent to battlefront without any firearm training.
Asfan’s family grew suspicious after they were unable to contact Afsan. They lodged a complaint with Hyderabad police and later approached Asaduddin Owaisi.
The AIMIM president on February 21 appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar to take steps to bring back 12 Indians who were forced to fight Ukraine alongside the Russian Army.
He said these unemployed youth who had gone to Russia to work for security at buildings were cheated and were taken to the war front.
They included two youth from Telangana, three from Karnataka, two from Kashmir and one each from Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh.
Hamil Mangukiya (23) from Gujarat was killed in an airstrike on February 21 in Donetsk region on Russia-Ukraine border.
Owaisi said three agents cheated unemployed youth by sending them to Russia to fight against Ukraine. Faisal Khan, one of the agents, is in Dubai while Sufiyan and Puja are from Mumbai. Ramesh and Moin are Indian agents in Russia.
After the news of Asfan’s death, the family members of another youth from Telangana are worried. Mohammed Sufiyan (22), a resident of Narayanpet, had also gone to Russia. The family has appealed to the Indian government to safely bring back Sufiyan.
