Haryana youngsters deceitfully pushed into Russia-Ukraine conflict: Congress

Chandigarh, Sep 11 (PTI) Congress leaders Kumari Selja and Randeep Singh Surjewala have expressed deep concern and demanded action over an incident, in which two men from Haryana's Fatehabad district were "deceitfully" pushed into the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

"Ankit Jangra (23) and Vijay Poonia (25) have been deceitfully pushed into the war on the Ukraine border," Selja claimed.

The Sirsa MP demanded immediate intervention of the Centre in the matter. In a statement on Thursday, the former Union minister said watching a video on social media of the two men from Kumharia village in Fatehabad was "extremely distressing".

Surjewala said Jangra and Poonia had gone to Russia on a student visa, but were deceitfully recruited into the Russian army and sent to the war zone on the Ukraine border.

"Both have appealed for help from the Government of India through videos and WhatsApp calls," he said in a post on X, while urging the BJP-led Centre to take concrete steps to ensure the safe return of the duo.

Meanwhile, Ankit Jangra's brother Raghuvir told reporters in Fatehabad that the former got in touch with him recently through a video call and shared details of their situation.

Jangra, who had gone to Moscow on a student visa for a Russian-language course six months ago, told his brother that there were a few more Indians in the group who were facing the same fate.

A woman in Moscow misled them and told them that they would get a security job for which they would have to undergo three months of training, after which they would be paid Rs 2.5 lakh per month. They were also made to sign a contract written in Russian, Jangra said.

Subsequently, they were given Army uniforms and were trained for a few days, before being pushed to the forests of Ukraine.

In her statement, Selja said, "This is not just a humanitarian crisis but also highlights the grim state of unemployment in Haryana.... This alarming situation is forcing the state's youth to go abroad in search of jobs, often landing them in dangerous and fraudulent circumstances." "This is not only about two families but about the future of the entire youth of the state," she said.

The Congress leader expressed hope that the Centre will immediately intervene and take concrete and swift action to bring back not only the two men but all stranded Indians safely to the country.

She said this is not the first time that youngsters from Haryana have been trapped in the Ukraine-Russia war zone. Earlier too, many were caught on the Russian side of the conflict. PTI SUN APL RC