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Four men from the erstwhile Nizamabad district in Telangana, who travelled to Russia in search of employment, are reportedly stranded in the war zone after allegedly being recruited into the Russian military. Their families have approached the Telangana government seeking intervention to ensure their safe return.
The four men have been identified as Bhookya Ravinder, 44, from Nallagutta Thanda in Munipally, Jakranpally; Sirshu Ashok, 44, from Oddera Colony in Sirikonda; Megavath Prakash, 40, from Cheruvu Thanda in Dammannapet village of Dharpally; and Mohammed Afzal Khan, 43, from Tadkole in Banswada, Kamareddy district.
According to their families, the men travelled to Russia after being promised jobs in the oil industry. However, they allegedly did not receive their salaries and were subsequently persuaded to take up alternative work that resulted in them being sent to a military camp.
The families alleged that an agent, Thelu Krishna from Domakonda mandal in Kamareddy district, who is based in Russia, had promised the men that they would work in military support services and would not be involved in combat. They were allegedly later trained to handle weapons and ammunition and deployed to the frontline in Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine.
Sirushu Saritha, Ashok’s wife, said her husband travelled to Russia in February after an agent from Isaipet village in Machareddy mandal promised him a job with an oil company.
“He was not paid his salary even after two months. He and three others were subsequently lured into the Russian military,” she was quoted as saying by The Hindu.
Saritha said the family had been trying to secure her husband’s return. She recently married off their elder daughter while Ashok was still in Russia.
Mohammed Afzal Khan’s wife, Jameela Begum, said the family had been under severe emotional strain after receiving distress messages from him.
“Ever since we heard his voice messages, neither I nor my in-laws and other family members have been able to sleep,” she told The Times of India.
Afzal Khan’s father, Abbas Khan, said his son left for Russia on February 15. He has a son, a daughter, and a wife with a disability.
Ravinder’s family said his two sons, Nithin and Arvind, are dependent on him.
The families of the four men submitted a representation to Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy through CM Pravasi Prajavani, a platform for addressing the grievances of non-resident Indians from Telangana, in Hyderabad on Tuesday, September 29, seeking government intervention.
CM Pravasi Prajavani in-charge Gadwal Vijayalakshmi said officials of the General Administration Department’s NRI wing would coordinate with the Ministry of External Affairs and the Indian Embassy in Moscow to facilitate their return.
