Human trafficking

Several men from Kerala who find themselves on the warfront in Russia had taken permanent residency (PR) in the country and given up their Indian passports, according to the state government’s Non-Resident Keralites Affairs (NORKA) department. NORKA chief executive officer Ajith Kolassery told The Indian Express that these men joined as support staff with the Russian Army after surrendering their Indian passports as they were offered a significantly higher income – around Rs 2.5 lakh a month – than they were earning back home. “We have learned from the Indian embassy in Moscow that they (the men from Kerala) had given their willingness in writing to join the Russian Army after taking PR,” he said. ADVERTISEMENT PlayUnmute Fullscreen However, some of them have expressed their desire to return to India after Sandeep, a 36-year-old from Kerala’s Thrissur district, died in the second week of August in a drone attack. Following this, the families of a few of the men approached the state government, and last week, Chief Minister Pinarayi VIjayan wrote to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar to bring them back from the Russian Army camps. Festive offer “We don’t know how many from Kerala are still there. Four have expressed their willingness to come back. A few others are still disinclined to return to Kerala because of the promise of Rs 2.5 lakh a month there. At home, they were mainly electricians, cooks and plumbers. This is a very irregular migration from Kerala,” Kolassery said. In March this year, the CBI in Delhi had registered a case of human trafficking after several Indian nationals, including a few from Kerala, were allegedly duped to work with the Russian Army. The case against agents was registered after two Indian youths died in Russia’s war with Ukraine. ADVERTISEMENT However, according to sources, many who took PR in Russia to join the military moved to that country in April – after the job fraud case was reported. Some of these people told The Indian Express that while they were informed that they would be put into military camps, there was no mention of combat jobs on the warfront. Santhosh, one of the Keralites looking to return home from Russia, said he and two others had landed in the country on a private visa that was valid for three months. “To join the military support service at their camps, we had to take PR after cancelling our Indian passport. But after Sandeep’s death, we have decided to return to India. We have to first cancel our contract with the military and then the PR. The embassy is helping us to complete the proceedings,” he said. ADVERTISEMENT A native of Thrissur and an electrician by profession, Santhosh said he and the two others he travelled with are at a military base camp in Rostov Oblast as they await completion of the process to quit the Russian military. Earlier, they had been at the frontlines of the war in a border area, he said. According to him, there are at least two others from Kerala on the frontlines that he knows of. Santhosh said he and the others came to Russia as they were offered jobs as cooks, electricians and plumbers at the military camp with a salary of Rs 2.5 lakh a month. “When the cheating case came up in March, we were in Kerala but had already decided on coming to Russia. When we heard about the case, we panicked, but the people involved in our recruitment in Kerala and Moscow told us that once we get a PR, the job would be safe and the military would look after us,” he recalled. They went to Russia on a three-month private visa, but on reaching Moscow, they surrendered their Indian passport and obtained permanent residence in Russia, which is mandatory to join the Army support service. ADVERTISEMENT Santhosh said that even though they were told they would not be involved in combat, they were made to train on using combat rifles and the training kept getting more intense. “Initially, we were told the training was for only 20 days. But it got extended up to 70 days. After rifle training, we were put on more arduous training. Wearing heavy metal battle jackets with medical kits, weapons and other equipment, including a phosphorus mask, we were made to walk six kilometres a day. This was extended to 18 kilometres a day later. After that, we were taken to the war front in the border areas,” he said. He said that when they told the commanders that they did not want to fight, the commanders “did not insist, since there were few from Syria in our team who were willing to be fighters”. “After Sandeep’s death, due to government intervention, we could move away from the warzone to a safe camp,” Santhosh said. ADVERTISEMENT He also said that they were not given the promised salary. “We got only Rs 9,000 in the first month of training, and then it was hiked to Rs 40,000,” he said. Back in Kerala, the family of Sandeep, who was killed in a drone strike in August, is waiting for the repartrion of his body. Saran, a relative, said, “We were told that the embassy in Moscow is yet to get his body. He died at a battlefront and his body can be taken to Moscow only via road, we were told.” mail logo Subscribe to receive the day's headlines from The Indian Express straight in your inbox Enter Your Email A Keralite settled in Moscow, who spoke to The Indian Express on condition of anonymity, said PR in Russia has been an attraction for job seekers from India. He said these people are told that the job would be in military camps, but not on the frontlines. “Besides, they were offered a lucrative salary. Until April end, the Russian military used to recruit foreigners with PR. People were ready to take that risk,” he said. Click here to join The Indian Express on WhatsApp and get latest news and updates © The Indian Express Pvt Ltd First uploaded on: 11-09-2024 at 12:50 IST TAGS:KeralaRussia