- विज्ञापन -
Jalandhar: Mandeep Kumar, who went abroad in December 2023 with the dream of a bright future, never thought that he would have to face the Ukrainian army equipped with modern weapons. Jagdeep Kumar, a resident of Goraya, Punjab, said that he had sent his Divyang brother Mandeep Kumar from home to Armenia with great hopes that the stove of the house would keep burning.
Jagdeep Kumar said that the travel agent took Rs 1 lakh, or 80 thousand, to send his brother to Armenia. His brother, Mandeep, and four other friends got the idea of going to Italy through a travel agent. The travel agent lured them to take a direct flight from Armenia to Italy. He said that he agreed to go to Italy with four other friends of his brother whom he met in Armenia, and the travel agent took Rs 31 lakh, or 40 thousand, from those five.
Victim Mandeep Kumar
Instead of sending them to Italy by plane, the agent fraudulently sent them to Moscow, the capital of Russia. It was here that the travel agents beat up his brother and blackmailed him, saying that if they did not give him more money, Mandeep’s condition would be even worse.
He said that he last spoke to Mandeep Kumar on March 3. In the video call made by him, he was seen in an army uniform, and a military area was visible. Mandeep’s last words were to save him from the Russian army; otherwise, he would be killed. After that, there was no trace of him.
Mandeep’s family’s concern increased even more when news came that the Russian army was recruiting Indian boys by force and intimidation.
There were also reports that these recruited youth were being sent to Russia’s ongoing war with Ukraine.
Jagdeep said that Mandeep had also told him that where he was going, there were about 40 other young Punjabi boys with him who were forcibly recruited into the Russian army. Jagdeep said that his elderly parents are very worried about Mandeep. Such news has made him more worried that some Punjabi youth recruited in the Russian army have died. He is worried about his brother, Mandeep. Till now, there has been no contact with Mandeep, and what is his condition? Jagdeep said that he contacted Rajya Sabha member and environmentalist Sant Balbir Singh Seechewal to say that his disabled brother Mandeep Kumar should be released from the Russian army and brought back to India.
Rajya Sabha member Sant Balbir Singh Seechewal said that he has brought this matter to the attention of the Ministry of External Affairs through a letter. Through this letter, he has requested the Ministry of External Affairs to intervene in this matter as soon as possible and has urged them to take concrete steps for the safe return of the youth forcibly recruited in the Russian army, including Mandeep.
