Brother seeks return of Afsan’s body from Russia; CBI cracks down on dubious job agents

New Delhi: Several Indian nationals were duped into working for the Russian Army and India has strongly taken up the matter with the Russian government for their early discharge, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Friday.

MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said strong action has been initiated against agents and unscrupulous elements who recruited the Indians on false pretexts and promises.

This comes after a man from Hyderabad, Mohammed Afsan, who was among the Indians duped by agents on the promise of jobs, taken to Russia and forced to work as a ‘helper’ for the Russian Army, died two days ago.

Afsan worked in cloth showroom in Hyderabad

When contacted, Afsan’s brother Imran said the Indian embassy in Moscow had informed the family about the 30-year-old’s death. He requested the Central government to help them get back his brother’s mortal remains.

According to Imran, Afsan and two others had reached Russia in November last year as they were promised jobs by the agents. He said the last time the family had spoken to Afsan was on December 31, 2023. Afsan worked in a cloth showroom in Hyderabad earlier, his brother said.

Beware of shady brokers

“The CBI yesterday busted a major human trafficking network conducting searches in several cities and collecting incriminating evidence. A case of human trafficking has been registered against several agents,” Randhir Jaiswal said at his weekly media briefing.

“We once again appeal to Indian nationals to not be swayed by offers made by agents for support jobs with the Russian Army. This is fraught with danger and risk to life,” he said.

Jaiswal said India remains committed to ensuring early release of the Indian nationals serving as support staff to the Russian Army. “We remain committed to the early release of our nationals serving as support staff with the Russian Army and their eventual return home,” he said.