Ukraine war: The plight of Indians trapped in Russian army
Indian PM Narendra Modi is visiting Russia. Many Indian families want Modi to raise the issue of dozens of Indian citizens who have been duped into joining the Russian army by travel agents and sent to fight on the frontline.
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00:00Ravi Mohn sent this message from the Russia-Ukraine front line to his brother Ajay back in March.
00:21My eyes well up on hearing this message.
00:27Ravi survived the attack, only to be deployed again to the front line a week later.
00:32Since then, his brother Ajay hasn't heard from him. But he hasn't given up hope.
00:38I have been sending him text messages every day since the 12th of March.
00:44I get no response, but I don't want my brother to feel we have forgotten him.
00:49Former generations saw poverty, and so did our generation in the family.
00:53He went there with the intention of changing the fate of our future generation, so they can live a comfortable life.
00:59This village sent many young men to Russia, but not to join the army.
01:04They were duped by local travel agents who promised lucrative jobs.
01:12One of the agents has been arrested on charges of fraud and human trafficking.
01:17We gave $13,000 to the travel agent to get Ravi a job in Russia.
01:22But when he landed there and called me a few days later, Ravi told me that he was forced into signing a contract to join the Russian army.
01:31He was told that either you will have to go to the war or face prison for 10 years.
01:36Ravi told me to alert others in the village so that they don't land in a similar situation.
01:41Ravi's family does not want to believe he's dead and have been asking the government to find out his whereabouts.
01:47In this village, they're not the only ones in a torturous limbo.
01:51This is Sahil Mohan in a video he sent from Russia, appealing to the Indian government to rescue him.
01:59He got shrapnel injuries in both his legs on the front line.
02:05His mother is distraught.
02:10She says she would rather have her son jobless at home than in a death trap far away.
02:18My heart yearns for him. I miss him so much.
02:23He asks me to make chilli flatbread for him when he returns home. He must be starving there.
02:31Six young men from this village named Mator have gone to Moscow.
02:35It's believed that around a hundred Indian men have been recruited by the Russian army in the last year.
02:40Why did they go? Because they simply could not find jobs at home.
02:44And it seems that many, like Sahil, are told that they'd be far from the fighting.
02:49Indian government says two of its citizens have died in the war
02:53and raised the matter with the Russian government ahead of Prime Minister Modi's visit to Moscow.
02:58The families back home want Modi to make the safe return of their kin a priority during his visit.
03:06If my voice reaches Mr. Modi, I would ask him to bring back all Indians who are trapped in the Russian army,
03:13no matter what condition they are in, injured, alive or dead.
03:17We hope they bring them home. Seems like Modi has a good rapport with Putin.
03:22For now, they watch the war from afar, hoping that the fighting will be followed by signs of life.