Indian man inducted into Russian army says 50 colleagues dead in voice note
New Delhi: In India, a distressing voice note from a Telangana worker forcibly enlisted in the Russian army has exposed the plight of Indian workers lured abroad through fraudulent job agents.
According to Kashmir Media Service, Sirshu Ashok, a resident of Sirikonda Mandal of Nizamabad district in Telangana had gone to Russia for a gardening job. He was instead forcibly drafted into the Russian army and sent to fight in the Ukraine war.
In a voice note sent to his wife Saritha from the frontline, Ashok said he was injured and surrounded by death.
“A man from Banswada died ten days ago. Tell this to his family members. Nearly 50 people who came with me died. Now only two of us are left. My leg is badly injured. But they are forcing me to walk,” he said. His family said Ashok travelled to Russia after an employment agent promised him a gardening job.
After reaching Russia, the agent allegedly cancelled his documents and forced him into military service, where he was trained to fire guns and handle explosives. He is among more than 20 workers from Telangana reportedly pushed into the Russian army. While 10 have returned, others including Bhukya Ravinder, Megawat Prakash from Dharpalli Mandal and Afzal Khan from Banswada remain stranded.
Jamila Begum, wife of Afzal Khan, said she received a similar distress call ten days ago and has had no information since. Officially 51 Indians have died on the frontlines.
Unofficial estimates put the toll much higher. Chief Minister Revanth Reddy has directed officials to bring home the body of Vavila Sudarshan Goud from Jagityala, who was killed in a Russian drone attack in Odesa on September 1.
The incident lays bare how rising poverty, unemployment and lack of livelihood opportunities in Indian states like Telangana are driving desperate youth into the hands of fake recruitment agents, risking their lives in foreign war zones for survival.
