CHANDIGARH: After serving the Russian army for eight months in its war against Ukraine Rakesh Yadav hailing from Uttar Pradesh returned to India. Following which claimed that more the 25 youth from India are still stuck fighting in the war.
Making sensational revelations Yadav said one of his companions was killed in a drone attack by Ukraine. "My life was saved because I jumped into the bunker built there as soon as I saw the drone" he added.
Similarly, referring to another incident, he said that on June 17 one of his colleagues died in a grenade explosion there however the Russian authorities shared the news of his death to his family only after six months.
Describing his ordeal, he explained that a travel agent had called him and five other companions eight months ago to work as home guards in Russia. "But as soon as they reached there (Russia), we were forcibly recruited in the Russian army and were made to sign a document in Russian language. I was beaten up there on repeated refusals. After fifteen days of weapon training, I was thrown into the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine. The situation there was very bad in this ongoing war,’’ he says. He said that his hand was also injured in the bomb blast there.
With moist eyes, Yadav said that once he felt that everything was over and he would never be able to go back. "Seeing the conditions there, I once even tried to kill myself as there is always a danger of death there, ‘’ he added.
He alleged that the agents forcefully withdrew about Rs 45 lakh from his account, which he received as wage in the army and compensation given by the government as he was injured. He added that this has been done not only with him but with all the youth from here working in the Russian army.
He further said that the agents open their bank accounts and keep the PIN code of the accounts with them. This is on pretext that when their salaries are credited to their accounts they will transfer to their families back in India but instead, the agents withdraw their hard-earned money.
Yadav who belongs to Azamgarh in Uttar Pradesh returned from Russia on Sunday, and reached Sultanpur Lodhi near Kapurthala in Punjab to express his gratitude to the AAP Member of Parliament from Rajya Sabha Sant Balbir Singh Seechewal for saving him.
He was accompanied by five other families from Punjab, Maharashtra, Jammu and Kashmir and Uttar Pradesh. These families handed over a letter to Seechewal and appealed for help for the return of their children trapped in the Russian army.
Jagdeep Singh brother of disabled Mandeep Singh who is trapped in the Russian army from Punjab, said that he has not spoken to Mandeep since March 3.
While the family members of Kanhaiya Kumar and Deepak, who came from Uttar Pradesh said that Kanhaiya and Deepak were injured in the battlefield in a grenade explosion but have not spoken to them after June.
Thanking Union Foreign Minister Dr Jaishankar, Seechewal said that he will try to raise the issue in the current session of Parliament and added that the first case in this regard came to his attention during March this year of Gurpreet hailing from Punjab and his eight other companions trapped in the Russian army with him.
They returned in August and September with the cooperation of the Ministry of External Affairs. He appealed to the MEA to bring back the trapped Indian youth as soon as possible and to take strict action against the agents involved in this gang and make the youth earn their rights.