NIZAMABAD: Still shaken by his ordeal, Kasthuri Tirupati, a resident of Darpally village in Nizamabad district, on Tuesday narrated how he and other Telangana youths were taken to a Russian military camp after travelling to the country on the promise of jobs paying around `2 lakh a month.
Tirupati said he, along with two others from Telangana, travelled to Russia on September 27 through an agent from Nizamabad district after being promised an attractive salary and an insurance package carrying an Rs 8 lakh bonus. Instead, after reaching Moscow, they were taken to a Russian military camp, where they realised they had been placed in a situation they had not expected.
Speaking to TNIE in Nizamabad, Tirupati said several Telugu-speaking persons already at the camp explained the situation to them and advised them to leave if they wanted to protect their lives.
According to Tirupati, Russian military officials were moving the men towards areas close to the Ukraine border and assigning them duties as soldiers. With Ukrainian forces using drones and ammunition to target Russian positions, the situation became increasingly dangerous, he said.
Tirupati, who returned from Moscow two days ago and is currently staying in Armoor, said around 30 persons who wanted to leave the camp contacted Nizamabad MP Dharmapuri Arvind and Nizamabad district BJP president Dinesh Kulachari over the phone. They explained their situation and sought help for their rescue and repatriation.
Arvind subsequently took up the matter with Union External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, following which the Indian Embassy raised the issue with the Russian authorities, Tirupati said.
Of the 30 persons who left the camp, 11 initially reached Delhi, while three others, including Tirupati, were subsequently repatriated. The remaining persons were reportedly still on their way.
Tirupati recalled that they reached Delhi on October 3 but, owing to a delay in flights, reached their native places only on Sunday night.
He said more than 20 persons were still in Russia and that several Telangana youths from Nizamabad, Kamareddy and Jagtial districts were among those caught in the situation.
According to Tirupati, agents had been sending Telangana youths to Russia by citing requirements for the Russian military and promising attractive salaries and other benefits. He alleged that the youths’ passports were taken from them and that they were first moved to military camps and later towards areas close to the Ukraine border.
The youths staying in the military camps allegedly did not have access to their own mobile phones and had to depend on phones belonging to other soldiers to communicate with their families in Telangana, he said.
Meanwhile, some families received phone calls from their relatives late on Monday night, saying that those who had joined the military camps were not being allowed to return home. The calls have added to the anxiety among families waiting for information about the safety and return of their relatives.
The uncertainty over the repatriation of the remaining persons has left their families worried.