Indians pushed into Russia-Ukraine war: CBI names 19 in FIR over human trafficking racket

Others named by the premier investigating agency include four visa consultancy agencies in Delhi, Mumbai, Thane and Haryana and their Directors, and suspected agents, including a couple, in Haryana, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Maharashtra.

New Delhi: A Russian woman and two Indians based in Russia were named by the CBI in its FIR in connection with investigations into a human trafficking racket sending “gullible” youth to Russia who end up in combat roles in the Russian Army and are deployed in its war against Ukraine.

The incident came to light after some Indian nationals, who were duped into combat roles by offers of lucrative jobs or admission in universities, were killed in action. Nineteen people and visa consultancy firms have been named in the FIR as accused.

Those named by the premier investigating agency include four visa consultancy agencies in Delhi, Mumbai, Thane and Haryana and their Directors, and suspected agents, including a couple, in Haryana, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Maharashtra.

According to the FIR, they were allegedly involved in trafficking gullible Indian nationals to Russia and duping them in the pretext of better employment and high-paying jobs. The Indians were trafficked to Russia on the pretext of jobs in the Russian Army and other assignments. They were charged huge amounts, it said.

These agents also were allegedly duping Indian students by promising them admission in government-run universities but landing them in “dubious” private universities. The students were promised free discounted visa extensions and later left at the mercy of visa agents and college authorities.

“On reaching Russia, passports of these Indian nationals were taken/snatched by agents in Russia. They were being trained in combat roles and provided with Russian Army uniform...Thereafter these Indian nationals are/were deployed at front bases in Russia-Ukraine war zone against their wishes and put their lives in grave danger,” the FIR said.

Some human trafficking victims also got grievously injured in the war zone, it said.

Officials said one of the Delhi-based agencies has sent around 180 people, most of them students, to Russia. However, it is yet to be ascertained how many have been deployed in the war zone.

The Russian woman named in the FIR has been identified as Christina while two Indians allegedly involved in the racket and presently based in Russia are Santhosh, who hails from Tamil Nadu and Mohd Moinuddin Chippa from Rajasthan. Among the agents identified, four are from Maharashtra and three each from Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

On Thursday, the CBI conducted searches at more than 10 locations in seven cities -- Delhi, Thiruvananthapuram, Mumbai, Ambala, Chandigarh, Madurai and Chennai. Around 35 instances of victims being sent abroad have been established. Over Rs 50 lakh, documents and electronic records like laptops, mobiles and desktops were seized while some suspects have been detained for questioning.

Those named in the FIR also include Delhi-based 24x7 RAS Overseas Foundation and its Director Suyash Mukut, Mumbai-based OSD Bros Travels & Visa Services Pvt Ltd and its Director Rakesh Pandey, Chandigarh-based Adventure Visa Services Pvt Ltd and its Director Manjeet Singh and Dubai-based Baba Vlogs Overseas Recruitment Solutions Pvt Ltd and its Director Faisal Abdul Mutalib Khan.