Mohammed Asfan, a Hyderabad resident, and two other youths from Uttar Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir travelled to Russia in November of last year after the agents promised them jobs as helpers in Russian government offices. Mohammed Asfan last spoke to his family on December 31, 2023. On Wednesday, March 6, the Indian embassy in Moscow confirmed the 30-year-old man's death.
Mohammed Asfan was killed months after being duped into joining Russia's war against Ukraine, the Indian Embassy in Moscow confirmed on Wednesday. According to the Ministry of External Affairs, approximately 20 Indian nationals serve as support staff for the Russian army.
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.@MEAIndia— India in Russia (@IndEmbMoscow) March 6, 2024
"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 embassy said in a post on X.
Who was Mohammed Asfan?
According to an NDTV report, Asfan was duped by a Dubai-based agent who runs a YouTube channel called 'Baba Vlogs' and promotes obtaining work permits for the country in his videos. According to the family, the agent promised high-paying jobs as security guards in Russia and took ₹3 lakh from each of the men. After arriving in Moscow, Asfan and others were forced to sign a Russian document. According to Asfan's brother Imran, they later discovered they had been recruited as "helpers" in the Russian army.
Imran stated that one of the agents who duped Asfan into going to Russia contacted him recently to inform him that Asfan's contract had been cancelled. Imran also claimed that Asfan was injured but not dead. Meanwhile, AIMIM sources told PTI that the party's chief, Asaduddin Owaisi, had contacted the Indian embassy in Moscow after Mohammed Asfan's family had repeatedly approached him about it over the last few days.
An Indian embassy official in Moscow reportedly informed Asaduddin Owaisi of Mohammed Asfan's death. Mohammed Imran, meanwhile, claimed that Russian agents in contact with him say Mohammad Asfan is alive and in Ukraine's Marinca territory. They terminated his agreement with another source on February 16. According to Mohammed Asfan, "Agents are saying he is alive, but the embassy says he is dead," according to ANI.
Asaduddin Owaisi raised the issue
Asaduddin Owaisi told the media on February 21 that family members of young Indians, some of whom were from Telangana, had met with him and told him that their relatives had been taken to Russia under false promises of being employed and then sent to fight on the border between Russia and Ukraine.
The Hyderabad MP had requested that the Union government, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, hold talks with the Russian government to safely return the youth to India. He also stated that the two groups of people were sent to Russia from all over the country.
On Wednesday, the MEA stated that they were in contact with the family and Russian authorities and were attempting to send his mortal remains to India.
(Inputs from agencies)
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