Differently-Abled Punjab Youth, Deceived By Agent, Ends Up Dead In Russia

Jalandhar/Kapurthala: Instances of youth from Punjab falling prey to fraud and deceit for landing jobs abroad galore with several even paying for the quest for better opportunities with their lives.

In yet another incident, Mandeep Kumar (28) from Jalandhar died in Russia after he was deceived by agents who promised to send him to Italy. Mandeep's body reached Delhi on Saturday and was handed over to his family. The deceased's brother Jagdeep said, "My brother was differently-abled and was sent to Russia by a travel agent instead of Italy. My brother was forcibly recruited into the Russian Army where he was mistreated."

Jagdeep, who recently returned from Russia after searching for his brother, said Mandeep's mortal remains have been brought back. They were received at the Delhi airport on Saturday. He said he came to know of the death of his brother two months back after his DNA samples given to the Russian authorities matched with one of the bodies."

Jagdeep went to Russia twice, in February and October last year. He spent almost three months in Russia and returned from his second trip on December 8. Jagdeep said Mandeep, along with four others, travelled to Armenia in September 2023. From there, they were supposed to go to Italy.

"Mandeep was promised that he would be sent to Italy for work but the travel agents took him to Russia instead and coerced him to join the Russian army", he said. Jagdeep said he spoke to his brother the last time on March 3, 2024, and the call lasted 17-20 seconds. During the conversation, Mandeep asked to be rescued from Russia.

According to Jagdeep, Mandeep had a congenital defect in his leg and despite this, was made to join the army and sent to the war. Jagdeep demanded action against the travel agents for duping his brother and forcing him to join the Russian army. He also appealed to the Centre to take appropriate steps to prevent any recruitment of Indians in the Russian army.

Jagdeep said Mandeep was not given food and was made to stay in the open. "Even as my brother was differently-abled, he was forcibly recruited into the army," Jagdeep said. He said Mandeep had sent several videos to him highlighting his plight. "We showed the videos to staff of India's embassy in Russia but no action was taken to rescue Mandeep," he alleged.

After returning from Russia last month, Jagdeep claimed that 10 Indians, who were recruited into the Russian army, had died in the war against Ukraine. Of these, three belonged to Punjab and seven to Uttar Pradesh and Jammu, he said.

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