Punjab Cong leader seeks Centre's intervention in 'recruitment' of Indians into Russian military

Chandigarh, Sep 11 (PTI) Punjab Congress leader Pargat Singh on Thursday sought Centre's intervention into the matter of "forcible recruitment" of Indian nationals particularly from north India into the Russian Army for an ongoing war against Ukraine.

He claimed that 126 youths from north India, who were recruited into the Russian army, were still trapped and 15 of them were missing.

Singh also lamented that not a single substantive step has been taken to punish the nexus of agents who were allegedly involved in the matter.

He accused the Centre and the Punjab government of failing to prevent the "forcible" recruitment of Indian nationals into the Russian army.

"Despite repeated official government advisories, both the Centre and Punjab Government have exhibited alarming indifference, enabling traffickers and agents to carry out human smuggling on a grave scale," Singh, who was accompanied here by a few family members of those youths who were allegedly recruited into the Russian army, said.

Among them were Goraya-based Jagdeep Kumar, whose younger brother Mandeep Kumar went missing in Russia where a travel agent made him join the Russian army. The family last spoke to him in March 2024.

Amritsar-based Parminder Kaur was also present. Her husband Tejpal Singh was killed in the war between Russia and Ukraine.

"The continued inaction of the Ministry of External Affairs and the Indian Embassy in Moscow constitutes a breach of duty and an intolerable dereliction of responsibility," the Congress leader alleged.

"As government agencies persist in issuing ineffective advisories, our youths are dying on foreign battlefields while families are left unsupported, uninformed, and denied even the dignity of adequate investigation or compensation," he stated.

"In July 2025, 15 Punjabi youths were taken to Russia under false job promises. By August, five were dead, three missing, and seven were forcibly conscripted. Across North India, 126 youths remain trapped in the Russian Army; at least 15 are missing," he claimed.

"These are not isolated cases of fraud; this is a coordinated, large-scale operation that the Indian system has utterly failed to acknowledge or combat. The Punjab government's ongoing delay in prosecuting the agents '“ whose criminal exploitation even robs families of death benefits and insurance payouts '“ is inexcusable and unacceptable," he said.

Singh said the family members of the victims were suffering immense psychological and financial distress.

India on Thursday demanded that Russia end its practice of recruiting Indian nationals as support staff in the Russian military. New Delhi also demanded the release of all the Indians currently serving in Russian armed forces following reports of fresh recruitment of Indians by the Russian military.

India also cautioned its nationals to not take offers to join the Russian military in view of inherent "risks and dangers" involved.

"We have seen reports about Indian nationals having been recruited recently into the Russian army," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in Delhi.

The Congress leader demanded direct diplomatic engagement with Russian authorities at the highest level to secure release and repatriation of all Indian nationals who were recruited into the army there.

"Immediate legal proceedings under anti-human trafficking statutes against all agents and those complicit in this organized crime, " he said while seeking expedited compensation and ongoing support for families who lost loved ones or whose relatives were missing.

He also demanded formation of a joint task force of the Centre and the Punjab government to ensure a permanent end to such exploitation.

"Anything less than decisive, public government intervention now would be a willful continuation of this human tragedy," he said. PTI CHS NB NB