External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday said the government is awaiting the release of 69 Indians recruited into the Russian army and that in many cases there are indications that the Indian nationals were misled into joining that country's army.
On action taken with respect to misleading people and getting them recruited into the Russian army, the minister told the Lok Sabha that the Central Bureau of Investigation has registered a criminal case against 19 individuals and entities while evidence has surfaced against 10 human traffickers whose identities the government knows.
Two of the accused were arrested on April 24 and two more on May 7.
"We should not jump the gun and say Russians are not serious on this matter. I think it is important to hold the Russian government to their word and most important for us, we are not here to score points or enter into debates. We are here to get back those 69 people because Indian citizens should not be serving in the army of foreign countries," he said during the Question Hour.
He was responding to queries from All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen member Asaduddin Owaisi on action being taken against individuals who are misleading youth to join the Russian army and whether India will stop buying discounted oil from Russia if it does not act on releasing Indians recruited into that country's army.
So far, the minister said there are a total of 91 cases of Indian nationals being recruited into the Russian army. Out of them, eight have passed away, 14 were discharged or in some manner have come back with the government's assistance and "there are 69 Indian citizens awaiting release from the Russian army," he added.
Out of the eight who died, the mortal remains of four have been sent back to India and in two cases -- one from Haryana and Punjab -- DNA samples have been sent to the Russian side. In one case from Gujarat, the family wants the body to be cremated in Russia and in another case from Uttar Pradesh, the mortal remains are being brought back.
According to Jaishankar, the problem is that the Russian authorities maintain that these Indian nationals entered into contracts for services with the Russian army.
"We are not necessarily subscribing to that... I think in many cases there are reasons to indicate that our nationals were misled, that they were told that they were going for some other job and then they were deployed with the Russian army," he said.
The issue of Indian nationals recruited into the Russian army was taken up by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his meeting with Russia's President Vladimir Putin last month.
"We take this issue very very seriously. I have myself raised it numerous times with the Russian foreign minister...When the prime minister was in Moscow last month, he raised it personally with President Putin and got the assurance that any Indian national in the service of the Russian army will be discharged and released," Jaishankar said.
The minister was responding to supplementaries by Congress member Adoor Prakash, who also said that five youths from his constituency were recruited into the Russian army and were later released.
Prakash represents Attingal constituency in Kerala.
Jaishankar also responded in detail to queries regarding instances of cyber trafficking of people who are misled and taken to South East Asia and made to work on cyber scams and related issues.
"We take it very seriously and have taken it up with all concerned governments at the political level. So far, 650 Indian nationals have been repatriated from Cambodia, 415 from Myanmar and 548 from Laos.
"The government appreciates the gravity of the issue and this is an issue for which we have to be very vigilant and we have to crack down very hard," he added.
Emphasising that it is not a political matter but a case where the state government concerned and the Union government should work together, Jaishankar said, "Wherever we find evidence of any infraction of the law, we will very vigorously prosecute the agents".
In his written response to the query from Prakash, the minister said early discharge of Indian nationals from the Russian armed forces, as well as their safety and well-being, has been "taken up strongly by the government with relevant Russian authorities at various levels".
During his recent visit to Russia in July 2024, Prime Minister Modi "strongly reiterated" the urgent need for early release of all Indian nationals from the Russian armed forces, he said.
"The law enforcement authorities of India have taken action under relevant provisions of Indian law against those involved in misleading Indian nationals into service in the Russian armed forces," the Union minister said in his written response.
"The number of Indian nationals in the armed forces of other nations is not known. Our Missions and Posts accord high priority to the safety, security and well-being of all Indian nationals abroad and take appropriate action, as and when any request for assistance is received," he added.
Some instances have come to the notice of the government where Indian nationals, including youth, were lured for jobs abroad by fraudulent agents or entities on the basis of misleading information, Jaishankar said.
"Expeditious and decisive action is initiated by the ministry of external affairs and the concerned Indian Missions/Posts abroad, whenever complaints of illegal migration/human trafficking are received," he said.
