Hyderabad: Names of at least another 16 men from Nizamabad, Kamareddy and Sircilla districts in Telangana who were reportedly taken to Russian military camps after being promised civilian jobs have come to light, taking the number of such victims to 20. Three of the 16 have since returned home, while efforts were underway to bring back the others.Another four men from the state are believed to be fighting for the Russian army against Ukraine after being deployed on the front lines, according to sources. Nizamabad police have since arrested an agent, Gourav, for allegedly sending the four to Russia.Nizamabad MP Dharmapuri Arvind wrote to external affairs minister S Jaishankar on Sept 29, seeking the repatriation of the 16. His letter said families had approached him after the men, who travelled seeking livelihoods, reported being made to undergo military training.Jobs promised, military training allegedAccording to the families’ representations and accounts of the men, agents promised well-paid cooking, cleaning, gardening and support jobs in the Russian army. Instead, they allegedly faced prolonged physical training, inadequate food, insufficient sleep and poor accommodation. The men circulated videos and messages seeking help.Those named were Domakonda Suresh, Gaddam Shekar, Kodi Govinda, Dhora Golla Balaiah, Goruvanthula Limbadri, Kauda Rajashekar, Varanganti Karthik, Karisinapu Nagarjuna, Rebba Bharath, Kasturi Thirupathi, Santhapuri Raju, Chekrala Chinna Venkat, Bhukya Ravinder, Megavath Prakash, Sirshu Ashok and Mohammed Afzal Khan.Three return; release counts differA subsequent account of the repatriation effort said the ministry and Indian embassy in Moscow initiated release procedures. Shekar of Banda Lingapur, Rajashekar of Keshapur and Thirupathi of Darpally returned first; the other 13 were expected home subsequently.One of them, Thirupathi, said, “Because we needed to repay debts back home, we trusted the agents and got cheated.” He credited Arvind for his release.Arvind thanked Jaishankar and the embassy for their assistance. A Union govt advisory urged Indians to exercise caution over Russian defence-related job offers, avoid unrecognised agents and verify recruitment credentials and contracts before travelling.Arvind thanked Jaishankar and the embassy for their assistance. A Union govt advisory urged Indians to exercise caution over Russian defence-related job offers, avoid unrecognised agents and verify recruitment credentials and contracts before travelling.
