Indian police arrest four people who recruited young people to serve in the Russian army

This week, Indian security forces carried out an operation to dismantle a gang that entices young Indians to join the Russian Armed Forces in the war in Ukraine. Four people were detained by police, the agency reported. Reuters.

According to the CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation), at least 35 people were deceived. The criminals promised their victims, usually young men, lucrative jobs in Russia, with salaries well above the Indian average. When they reported for duty, however, they discovered that they had enlisted to serve in the army in the war.

Among those detained are a translator, an individual who performs bureaucratic tasks, such as buying tickets and obtaining visas, and two recruiters. They operated mainly in the states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu, in the south of Indian territory.

The CBI said in a statement that an investigation remains ongoing “against other accused who are part of this international network of human traffickers.”

The Indian government confirmed that at least two Indian citizens died in the conflict. They would have gone to Russia aware that they would work with the Armed Forces, but they believed that they would occupy support roles far from the battlefield.

India is not the only country where recruiters have worked to get young men to fight alongside Russian forces. Sri Lanka said this week that “several” military veterans were convinced to join the Russian army on the promise of attractive salaries, with an uncertain number of them killed in action.

In Nepal, family members of men convinced to fight staged a peaceful protest in front of the Russian Embassy in Kathmandu to ask for news about the fighters. In December last year, Nepali security forces, along with those of India, also carried out an operation that ended with the arrest of suspects involved in the recruitment scheme.

The Nepalese recruited were mainly unemployed young people who had enlisted in exchange for a Russian passport, a travel visa and salaries up to six times the local minimum wage, which is US$130 (R$660). There are even reports of men who paid recruiters to facilitate procedures with Russian forces.