New Delhi: The family of Mohammed Afzal Khan, a 43-year-old man from Banswada in Telangana’s Kamareddy district, fears that he has died while serving with Russian forces near the Ukraine frontlinrted by NDTV. re3ported e.
The family has approached the Ministry of External Affairs and the Indian Embassy in Moscow, seeking confirmation of the report and help in bringing his body home if he is dead.
Khan’s family learnt about the reported death through a voice message sent by Sirshu Ashok, another Telangana man allegedly caught in the same situation.
Ashok reportedly told his wife that Khan had died near the Russia-Ukraine frontline about a week ago. The message was later shared with Khan’s family, but neither Russian nor Indian authorities have officially confirmed his death so far, as reported by NDTV.
The family has urged the government to immediately contact Russian officials and find out Khan’s present location. If he is confirmed dead, they want India’s help in identifying his body and arranging its repatriation to Telangana.
They have also requested urgent diplomatic efforts to ensure the safe return of three other Telangana men reportedly stuck in similar circumstances.
Four Men From Telangana
Khan is one of four men from Telangana whose families say they travelled to Russia after being promised civilian employment, but were later made to do military-related work. The other three have been identified as Bhukya Ravinder, Sirshu Ashok and Megavath Prakash.
According to the families, the men first worked in gardening and grass-cutting jobs after reaching Russia. They allegedly worked for nearly five months but were paid for only about two months before becoming jobless.
The families claim that the men were later persuaded to take up Russian military-linked duties after being promised citizenship and money. They say the men were made to carry explosives, sent to dangerous frontline areas and physically harassed. Some of them were also injured.
The families had approached the Telangana government on September 29, seeking its intervention for the safe return of the men.
The Ministry of External Affairs had earlier said that 227 Indians were recruited into the Russian military, 139 were discharged and 51 died while serving for Russia.
