HYDERABAD: A youth from Hyderabad who was drafted into the
Russian Army
on the pretext of a job has been killed in the war with Ukraine.
Mohd Afsan, a 30-year-old who fell victim to a job scam, was deceived into travelling to Moscow in December last year under the promise of a helper role. However, upon his arrival, he was forcefully drafted into the Russian Army and deployed to the Ukraine border.
The news of his death was confirmed by the Indian Embassy in Moscow, after Hyderabad MP
Asaduddin Owaisi
made a plea to rescue Indian youths who had been coerced into joining the Russian Army.
Imran, Afsan’s brother, was with MP Asaduddin
Owaisi
when he contacted the embassy.
The family of Afsan has been attempting to reach out to the agent responsible for arranging his job in Russia but has not received any confirmation of his death.
According to Syed Salman, brother of 23-year-old Mohd Sufiyan who also fell victim to the job scam and joined the Russian Army, the agent claimed that Afsan was stationed far away from Moscow along the Ukraine border, making it difficult to verify any information.
“The family has tried to contact the agent who took him to Russia in the name of getting him a job of a helper has not confirmed the death. They said the place where he was posted along the Ukraine border was far away from Moscow and they would not be able to confirm anything,” Syed Salman told TOI.
Mohd Afsan, a resident of Bazar Ghat, reportedly sustained a gunshot wound while serving on the Russian border with Ukraine. Despite attempts to reach out to his brother Imran, no immediate contact could be made.
Salman confirmed that both Imran and he were present with MP Asaduddin Owaisi when they received the news of Afsan’s death from the embassy. The MP had previously raised concerns about Indian youth being deceived into joining the Russian Army through job scams and had urged the government to intervene and rescue them.
Imran had recently stated that he intends to travel to Moscow himself in search of his brother and bring him back home. Afsan, a commerce graduate, had previously worked in a men’s clothing store before accepting the job offer in Moscow.
Afsan is survived by his wife and two children.
