KARNAL: Cousins Mukesh (21) and Sunny (24), from Haryana, have claimed that more than 200 men, mostly from South Asia, are trapped in camps set up by fraudulent immigration agents in a Russian forest on the border between Russia and Belarus. These agents then force them to join the Russian army, they claimed.
The cousins said they were fraudulently sent to Bangkok instead of Germany, where they had been promised jobs in a hotel.From Bangkok, they were taken to Belarus by air and from there they entered Russia through the border forests where the camps were set up.
In Russia, these so-called immigration agents first try and tempt these South Asian men by offering them Russian work permits, Russian brides, and even Russian passports if they join the army, the cousins said.
The men, who displayed injuries all over their bodies, claimed they were kept hungry, thirsty, and were harassed both physically and mentally by immigration agents in these camps. When they refused to join the army and fight in Ukraine, they were jailed in Moscow for entering Russia without valid travel permits, they said.
A lawyer in Moscow helped them get out of jail and return home. They said the Russian lawyer, who charged Rs 6 lakh for his work, told them his country has immigration agents on its payroll.
We were not given food for 15 days, say Karnal cousins
These agents are paid up to Rs 2 lakh each when they get young men from other countries to join the Russian army and fight in the Ukraine war, the Moscow lawyer said. Their families ended up spending Rs 35 lakh and Rs 25 lakh on failed endeavours to send Mukesh and Sunny, respectively, to Germany.
“We were tortured,” said Mukesh as he showed some injury marks on his body. “They burned us with heated wood and matchsticks, made us lie on ice, pointed guns and knives at us,” he added.
Displaying a knife injury on his arm, Sunny said, “We were not given food for about 15 days. Around 200 boys like us are still in that hell. I pray for their safe return.”
“They forced all the boys to join the Russian army, otherwise they would be sent to jail for illegal crossing of the border and would be imprisoned for 10 years. And if the men join the army, the agents promise they will earn Rs 2.5 lakh per month and get a Russian passport too,” said the two cousins.
The cousins and two friends – one a Pakistani, the other from Punjab – refused, so they were jailed for entering the country illegally. “Our two friends are still trapped there and their families are very stressed,” said Sunny.
The cousins revealed that they stayed in the same camp as Karnal teenager Harsh, who has claimed that he and six other Indian youth were forcibly deployed to the Russia-Ukraine border. “I don’t know under what circumstances Harsh and his friends agreed to join the army. They all were taken somewhere else. I didn’t see them after that,” said Mukesh.
The cousins’ families have now complained to police, which has filed an FIR against six immigration agents, including a woman, under IPC Sections 402 (assembling to commit dacoity) and 420 (cheating). Sandeep Kumar, investigation officer at Madhuban police station, said, “An FIR has been filed. We have started our investigation.”
The cousins said they were fraudulently sent to Bangkok instead of Germany, where they had been promised jobs in a hotel.From Bangkok, they were taken to Belarus by air and from there they entered Russia through the border forests where the camps were set up.
In Russia, these so-called immigration agents first try and tempt these South Asian men by offering them Russian work permits, Russian brides, and even Russian passports if they join the army, the cousins said.
The men, who displayed injuries all over their bodies, claimed they were kept hungry, thirsty, and were harassed both physically and mentally by immigration agents in these camps. When they refused to join the army and fight in Ukraine, they were jailed in Moscow for entering Russia without valid travel permits, they said.
A lawyer in Moscow helped them get out of jail and return home. They said the Russian lawyer, who charged Rs 6 lakh for his work, told them his country has immigration agents on its payroll.
We were not given food for 15 days, say Karnal cousins
These agents are paid up to Rs 2 lakh each when they get young men from other countries to join the Russian army and fight in the Ukraine war, the Moscow lawyer said. Their families ended up spending Rs 35 lakh and Rs 25 lakh on failed endeavours to send Mukesh and Sunny, respectively, to Germany.
“We were tortured,” said Mukesh as he showed some injury marks on his body. “They burned us with heated wood and matchsticks, made us lie on ice, pointed guns and knives at us,” he added.
Displaying a knife injury on his arm, Sunny said, “We were not given food for about 15 days. Around 200 boys like us are still in that hell. I pray for their safe return.”
“They forced all the boys to join the Russian army, otherwise they would be sent to jail for illegal crossing of the border and would be imprisoned for 10 years. And if the men join the army, the agents promise they will earn Rs 2.5 lakh per month and get a Russian passport too,” said the two cousins.
The cousins and two friends – one a Pakistani, the other from Punjab – refused, so they were jailed for entering the country illegally. “Our two friends are still trapped there and their families are very stressed,” said Sunny.
The cousins revealed that they stayed in the same camp as Karnal teenager Harsh, who has claimed that he and six other Indian youth were forcibly deployed to the Russia-Ukraine border. “I don’t know under what circumstances Harsh and his friends agreed to join the army. They all were taken somewhere else. I didn’t see them after that,” said Mukesh.
The cousins’ families have now complained to police, which has filed an FIR against six immigration agents, including a woman, under IPC Sections 402 (assembling to commit dacoity) and 420 (cheating). Sandeep Kumar, investigation officer at Madhuban police station, said, “An FIR has been filed. We have started our investigation.”