Hyderabad man tricked into fighting Ukraine war dies in Russia
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Photo courtesy of NDTV
Hyderabad: The Indian Embassy in Moscow on Wednesday confirmed the death of an Indian man who was among nearly two dozen Indians tricked into joining Russian war against Ukraine.
The embassy in a post on social media platform X confirmed ‘ the tragic death’ of Mohammed Asfan from Hyderabad, NDTV reported.
‘We have learnt about the tragic death of an Indian national Shri Mohammed Asfan. We are in touch with the family and Russian authorities. Mission will make efforts to send his mortal remains to India,’ the post read.
The embassy however did not mention the cause of the death or details his work in Russia.
It is reported that Afsan was among those travelled to Russia after having been offered ‘high-paying jobs’.
Meanwhil, Afsan’s family said they were informed about his death by AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi.
On February 21, Owaisi brought this issue forth in writing to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar about how men from Telangana, Gujarat, Karnataka, Jammu and Kashmir and Uttar Pradesh were duped into joining Russia’s war against Ukraine.
The Ministry of External Affairs on February 29 said the government was trying to bring back at least 20 Indians who had contacted Indian authorities.
These men were reportedly cheated by a Dubai-based agent, Faisal Khan, who runs the YouTube channel 'Baba Vlogs' with over 3 lakh subscribers.
In a video, Khan claimed: ‘We are working with the Russian army and seven people have received work permits for the country.’
The father of one of the young men, Abdul Naeem, alleged that Khan had taken Rs 3 lakh each from his son and three of his friends, offering ‘high-paying jobs as security guards’.
Meanwhile, NDTV reported on Tuesday seven men, hailing from Punjab and Haryana, in a video message appealed to Indian government for help.
They also claimed they were forced into fighting Russian war against Ukraine.