KALABURAGI: Deep sorrow which gripped three families of Kalaburagi turned into a moment of joy on Friday, as their children stranded in Russia returned home safely. The three were compelled to work in the war zone along the Russia-Ukraine border for the last nine months.
Sharing his joy with TNIE, Syed Nawaz Ali, a head constable at the Madbool police station in Kalaburagi district, said his son Syed Iliyas Hussaini came back with three of his friends, Abdul Nayeem and Sameer Ahmed of Kalaburagi and Mohammed Sufiyan of Narayanpet of Telangana.
It was insufferable nine months for these families after they learnt that their children, who had gone to Russia through agents to work as security guards, were allegedly forced to work in the war zone. A video of the four youth appealing to the central government and others to help them come back to India had gone viral some time ago.
Ali ran around meeting the then SP, Deputy Commissioner Fouzia Taranum and any official willing to meet him to appeal to them to bring his son and other youth back.
Trying to help him, the then MP Dr Umesh Jadhav and Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge too pressured the Union government to rescue the youngsters. Later, Foreign Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Prime Minister Narendra Modi held diplomatic talks with the Russian government to get the stranded youth back.
On Sunday, DC Taranum 0n Sunday invited the youth to her chamber and felicitated them.
Hussaini from Narona of Aland taluk and his friends were earlier working at the Dubai Airport. They saw an advertisement on YouTube for security guard posts in Russia, with the promise of Rs 1 lakh salary.
All the four met Bbab Wogla, who was a chief agent, and agents Soffiyan, Moin and Pooja. They flew to Russia through Chennai on December 18, 2023 by an Air Arabian Plain flight.
Ali said that all the four youth were probably recruited by a private army fighting for Russia and were deployed in areas of conflict, worrying their families back home.