Karnal (Haryana): Two brothers from Haryana's Karnal district alleged they were tortured by fraudulent agents after they refused to join the Russian army.
Sunny and Mukesh from Munak village of Karnal said they were taken to a camp in the forests of Poland-Belarus border where they were forced to either join the army or face a 10-year-imprisonment. When they refused joining the army, they were put behind the bars and tortured. Finally, their family arranged for bail and the two returned to India.
The family members said in July 2023, Rajkumar, an agent, who lives in their village, told Shyamlal, father of the victims to send his sons abroad on work permit. He promised that the two could easily earn Rs 2.50 lakh a month and said that the process would require around Rs 14 lakh. Shyamlal gave Rs 3 lakh to Rajkumar.
Narrating his ordeal, Mukesh said that he was supposed to go to Russia on the night of September 23, 2023, but Charanjeet and Ali, owners of Khwaja Tour Travel, told him that the flight to Moscow has been cancelled and gave him a ticket to Thailand from where he was to board a flight to Moscow. "I was told that my work permit and visa would be handed over to me there. I reached Thailand on September 25. After which, I was asked to give Rs 8 lakh on the ground of paying taxes at the embassy," Mukesh said.
Mukesh said he was told that his work permit and visa would not be given without the money. When his father expressed his inability to pay the amount, he was handed over to a fraudulent agent, who took him by flight to Moscow. "I was tortured a lot. When they received the money from my family, I was taken to the forests on the borders of Poland and Belarus. The Russian army took us into custody from the Belarus border. They threatened that I would have to either join the army or serve 10 years in jail. Many others were in our group who agreed to join the army, but I refused. After this, I was sent to jail. When I was in their custody, I would be beaten up with hot iron and wooden rods. Strict action should be taken against the accused," he said.
Echoing the same, Sunny said that he always dreamt of going abroad. He said after arriving in Moscow via Thailand, his passport was taken away and he was tortured while demanding money from his family. "Mukesh fell ill but was not given any medicine. Mukesh remained unconscious for two hours but still they did not give him medicine," Sunny complained.
Sunny alleged that the agents used to beat them up and burnt them with hot iron rods. After he refused to join the Russian army, he was lodged in jail where he would be given one biscuit every 15 days. After being imprisoned for two months, the two brothers finally returned home after their family arranged for their bail through a lawyer.
Around 300 men are trapped there, the brothers said. "They forced us to call our family for money by holding knives at us. Those who failed to arrange money would be found dead in the forest next day," the brothers alleged.
Their family arranged Rs 60 lakh by mortgaging their house, plot and jewellery in order to release them, they said.
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