Hyderabad man, duped into working as 'helper' for Russian army, dies

A man from Hyderabad, who was among the Indians "duped" by agents on the promise of jobs and taken to Russia and forced to work as a "helper" for the Russian Army, has died.

The Indian Embassy in Moscow on Wednesday confirmed the death of the man, identified as Mohammed Afsan, adding that they are in touch with the family here.

"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," Indian embassy in Moscow said in a post on 'X'.

When contacted, Afsan's brother Imran said the Indian embassy in Moscow informed the family about the 30-year-old's death.

He requested the Central government to help them get back his brother's mortal remains.

AIMIM sources said the party's chief Asaduddin Owaisi had contacted the Indian embassy in Moscow after Afsan's family approached him in this regard recently. An official from the Indian embassy in Moscow confirmed to Owaisi about Afsan's death, they said.

According to Imran, Afsan and two others had reached Russia in November last year as they were promised jobs by the agents. He said the last time the family had spoken to Afsan was on December 31, 2023. Afsan worked in a cloth showroom in Hyderabad earlier, his brother said.

Earlier, Owaisi had said that family members of some Indian youth, including from Telangana, had met him and informed that their kin were duped by agents on the promise of jobs and taken to Russia, but were allegedly sent to the warfront on the Russia-Ukraine border.

Owaisi had requested the Union government, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar to hold talks with the Russian government to bring the youth safely back to India.