Mother Of Gujarat Youth Held By Ukrainian Forces Urges Kyiv For Repatriation

Ahmedabad: The mother of a youth from Gujarat's Morbi, who went to Russia for higher studies and was subsequently captured by the Ukrainian forces while fighting for the Russian army, has appealed to the Ukrainian government, urging them to allow him to return to India.

According to the Gujarat police, Majoti Sahil Mohammed Hussein (22) had enlisted in the Russian military, reportedly to avoid a prison sentence linked to a drug-related case. But his mother, Hasina Majoti, says he went to the Ukraine border seeking help to leave Russia as he was being 'tortured' there.

"He had been tortured so much in Russia that he saw this as the only way to leave Russia. He came to the Ukrainian border and told the Ukrainian soldiers that he needed their help. I request the Ukrainian government to look at the current situation and talk to the Indian government, and send Sahil back to India. This is my request to the Ukrainian government," she said.

"Our Indian Embassy in Russia had issued a notice for Indian nationals saying that no matter how many requests the Russian Army makes and no matter how many pretexts they give, do not join them. To convey this message to my son, I wrote a letter to him. I had sent it to the India Embassy, but the letter did not reach my son. I tried to send the letter to Sahil through my lawyer, but it still didn't reach him. He was unaware of any such notice issued by the embassy," she told news agency ANI.

"Sahil has been granted legal permission by the Russian Court to talk to his family, but he hasn't been made to talk to us in these 19 months. Someone from Russia contacted us and said he could help in Sahil's release in return for Rs 1 crore, but we refused since we didn't have that kind of money. I raised a complaint in India and in Russia, and that man turned out to be a fraud. Sahil received a citizenship offer from the Russian government, which he did not accept. Later, he was asked to join the Russian Army. Through the media, we got to know that Sahil is in Ukraine right now," she added.

Sahil's uncle, Abdulbhai Ibrahimbhai Majothi, said, "We have no information about my nephew, who is originally from Rajasthan. Everyone in our family is educated. He is a graduate, and all his family members are government employees. We demand justice from the government. Sahil was smart from childhood, and his English skills are good. He used to work here 2.5 years ago."

However, police maintained that Hussein surrendered to the Ukrainian forces after fighting alongside the Russian military. The Ukrainian military confirmed the surrender of an Indian national from Gujarat fighting on the Russian side and released a video showing Hussein stating that he signed a contract to avoid jail, but wanted to leave and did not want to fight

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs had last month said India had strongly called upon Russia to release and repatriate 27 Indian nationals currently serving in its army. There have been reports that some Indians on student and business visas were forced into joining Russian military units deployed on the frontlines of the war in Ukraine.

[With agency inputs]

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