How men from India were tricked into working for the Russian military.
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A man from Indian-administered Kashmir says he was deceived into working for the Russian military and is recounting the ordeal he went through with several others from his homeland. VOA correspondent Muheet Ul Islam has more from Srinagar in Indian administered Kashmir. Arash Arabasadi narrates.
For eight months, 32-year-old Azad Yousuf Kumar from Poshwan in Pulwama, Kashmir, desperately longed to return home while working for the Russian military against Ukraine.
He says he was deceived into the job after answering an online advertisement for a job as a security helper in Moscow. He signed a contract in Russian without translation.
Three days after arriving in Moscow, Kumar says he and six other Indian nationals were transported to an undisclosed location, given Russian military uniforms and put through military training.
“I was injured within the first week during training and was later hospitalized. After recovering a bit, I looked for my friends and fellow nationals only to learn that they had been sent to the warzone along with some Egyptians and Nepalese.”
Kumar says while working with Russian forces he dug trenches and built makeshift bunkers in eastern and southern Ukraine, working continuously for days without enough food or water.
“I have no words to describe my suffering. Honestly, we weren’t even concerned about the hardships. Our only motive was to stay alive and return home.”
Back home, Kumar’s family was gripped by fear after learning of the hardship and dangers he was facing. They reached out to the Ministry of External Affairs and parliament for help.
Finally, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Russia and reportedly discussed the issue with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“Modi visited there twice and it facilitated his return. We had appealed to authorities regularly to help bring them home. Thankfully the majority of these who had been tricked are home after a long wait. We all are happy.”
Kumar says he managed to survive by refusing to learn to speak Russian, while those who did learn the language were sent to the front lines with Russian forces.
Kumar and 34 other Indians returned home. But he says many others are still there and he urged the government to help bring them him too.
For Muheet Ul Islam, in Srinagar in Indian administered Kashmir, Arash Arabasadi, VOA News.
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