Hyderabad man, duped into fighting for Russian army in Ukraine, killed

A 30-year-old man from Hyderabad, who was duped into joining the Russian Army and fighting against Ukraine, has been killed.

The Indian Embassy in Moscow on Wednesday, 6 March confirmed the death of Mohammed Asfan but has not revealed the cause of the death.

"We have learnt about the tragic death of an Indian national Shri Mohammed Asfan. We are in touch with the family and Russian authorities. Mission will make efforts to send his mortal remains to India," the embassy said in a post on X

The family of Afsan was shocked upon learning about his death. He is survived by his wife and two children – an eight-month-old daughter and a two-year-old son. His brother Mohammed Imran said they were not in a position to say anything now.

The family, which resides in the Bazar Ghat area, was informed about Afsan’s death by Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi.

Afsan, who was working in a readymade garment shop, was duped by a job agent based in Dubai. He, and two others, went to Moscow via Sharjah in November last year after they were promised jobs as helpers in the Russian Army. They were promised Rs 30,000 per month initially. The agent had also told them that they would get Rs 1.5 lakh later.

Asfan’s family grew suspicious after they were unable to contact Afsan. They lodged a complaint with Hyderabad police and later approached Asaduddin Owaisi.

The AIMIM President on 21 February appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar to take steps to bring back 12 Indians who were forced to fight Ukraine alongside the Russian Army. He said these unemployed youth who had gone to Russia to work for security at buildings were cheated and were taken to the war front.

They included two youths from Telangana, three from Karnataka, two from Kashmir and one each from Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh.

Hamil Mangukiya, 23, from Gujarat was killed in an airstrike on 21 February in the Donetsk region on the Russia-Ukraine border.

Owaisi had said three agents cheated unemployed youth by sending them to Russia to fight against Ukraine.

Faisal Khan, one of the agents, is in Dubai while Sufiyan and Puja are from Mumbai. Ramesh and Moin are Indian agents in Russia.