CBI Arrests 4 On Human Trafficking Charges; They Pushed Indians To Russia-Ukraine War Zone

New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Tuesday said that it has arrested four accused in a case in connection with the trafficking of Indian nationals being recruited in the Russian Army for combat roles. In a press note released by CBI, the agency stated that two accused – Arun and Yesudas Junior were arrested from Kerala on March 6.

The central probe agency arrested two other accused named Nijil Jobi Bensam & Anthony Michael Elangovan from Mumbai on April 24. CBI stated that an investigation against other accused persons who are also a part of the international network of human traffickers is currently underway.

A “major human trafficking network” was busted by CBI on March 6. This network was found to be running across India and targetted youths by misleading them on the pretext of offering lucrative jobs abroad. These traffickers lured Indians through social media like YouTube, and also via local contacts or agents, offering highly paid jobs in Russia.

Accused Nijil Jobi Bensam was working in Russia as a contractual translator. He was one of the key members of the network who have been operating in Russia to recruit Indian nationals to the Russian Army, news agency ANI reported.

The other accused, Michael Anthony was facilitating his co-accused Dubai-based Faisal Baba and other Russia-based people who are part of the network. They worked on processing the visa in Chennai and booked the air tickets for victims to fly to Russia.

Arun and Yesudas Junior were the main recruiters who lured Indian nationals hailing from Kerala and Tamil Nadu to the Russian Army. After busting the racket, CBI has also booked several private visa consultancy firms that were part of the racket.

CBI stated in its press note that these Indian nationals were thereafter trained in combat roles and deployed at the war front in the Russia-Ukraine war zone, against their wishes, which put their lives in “grave danger”.