Several Indians inducted into Russian Army remain missing: Report
New Delhi: In a concerning development, several Indians who were illegally enlisted in the Russian Army and forcibly sent to the war zone on the Russia-Ukraine border are reportedly still missing.
According to a report published by The Hindu on Sunday, citing communication from the Ministry of External Affairs and statements from the families of two missing men, Mohammad Amin Sheikh, a 65-year-old resident of Kupwara in Tangdhar, Jammu and Kashmir, said that his 27-year-old son, Zahoor Sheikh, last contacted the family on December 31, 2023.
Amin Sheikh mentioned that his son said that he was going for training and would not be available for the next three months on phone. “But when we started getting news about the deaths of Indians in Russia in January, we got worried and called on his number. We could not reach him. We are yet to hear from him,” Sheikh, a retired Inspector from the Public Health Department in Jammu and Kashmir, was quoted as saying by the publication.
Last week, Mohammad Amin Sheikh and his two other sons travelled to New Delhi to seek answers from the Ministry of External Affairs and the Russian Embassy after the Indian Embassy in Moscow failed to give them information about Zahoor Sheikh.
“We submitted a petition at the Russian Embassy,” 31-year-old Aijaz Amin, Zahoor Sheikh’s elder brother, told The Hindu. “They said they are looking into the matter. The MEA officials said that at least 15 Indians are still missing and though the Russian government is cooperative, their commanders on the ground are not responsive,” he added.
Zahoor had travelled to Russia after he came across a YouTube video promising the job of a security helper in Russia. Instead, he was reportedly deceived into joining the Russian Army.
Similarly, 30-year-old Mandeep, from Jalandhar in Punjab, has been missing since March. His brother, Jagdeep Kumar, also arrived in Delhi, looking for answers from the government about his sibling's whereabouts.
“We last spoke on March 3. He initially went to Armenia and was supposed to go to Italy from there in search of work. Instead, he was tricked by an agent to go to Russia and was forced to join the Russian Army. He was sent to the war zone after a few days of training,” Kumar told The Hindu.
Kumar said he met officials from the External Affairs Ministry in the capital city, who told him that at least 25 Indians were reported missing in Russia.
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Software engineer dies after car plunges into water-filled pit in Greater Noida
Noida (PTI): A 27-year-old software engineer died after his car went out of control and fell into a 20-feet-deep water-filled pit that was dug for the basement of an under-construction building in Sector 150 of Greater Noida, police said on Sunday.
The incident occurred in the early hours of Saturday, following which a search operation was launched. The body was recovered later in the morning with the help of teams from the fire department, State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and the local police.
Police at the Knowledge Park police station said they received information at around 12.15 am that a car had plunged into a pit near Sector 150.
The deceased was identified as Yuvraj Mehta, a resident of Tata Eureka Park society in Sector 150. He was working as a software engineer with a reputed company in Gurugram and was returning home from work at the time of the incident, police said.
"The search operation was carried out with the help of the NDRF, SDRF, fire department and local police. The body was recovered at around 4 am on Saturday," Additional Commissioner of Police (Greater Noida) Hemant Upadhyay told PTI.
He said preliminary investigation suggested that fog and overspeeding may have led to the accident, following which the car crossed a drain and fell into the pit.
The body has been sent for post-mortem examination and further investigation is underway, police said.
Local residents staged a protest against the Noida Authority, alleging negligence. They claimed that similar accidents had occurred in the past and that authorities had been repeatedly informed about the need for proper barricading and reflectors near the drain.
"Residents had requested the Noida Authority to install barricades and reflectors, but no action was taken," a protester alleged.
