Hardly four days after it was widely reported that Vladimir Putin has agreed to release all the Indians flighting in the Russian Army in their conflict with Ukraine, a man from Punjab has alleged that he has been asked to "return to the frontline".
Earlier this week, Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra had told reporters in Moscow that Prime Minister Narendra Modi “strongly raised” with President Vladimir Putin the issue of early discharge of the Indian nationals, who had been “misled into the service” of the armed forces of Russia.
The Sikh man has been identified by Indian Express in a report as one Gagandeep Singh who hails from Gurdaspur in Punjab.
Singh is said to be one of the many Sikhs who are allegedly forced into the ongoing Russia-Ukraine faceoff. Singh, who is currently said to be recovering from a knee injury in a camp, was quoted by the paper as saying that his commander in the Russian army denied getting any orders from the government for their release.
“After PM Modi went back, now the whole unit is going to the frontline, and I have also been told to join the unit. I request the Indian government to talk to Russia and arrange our visit back to India,” Singh told the publication.
He is said to have accessed the internet during his recovery at the camp from where he told IE: “Here all the officers know about the announcement made by Putin that we will be released. We were earlier informed that we would be sent back home.”
Referring to three of his friends who are also on the frontline, Singh said, “My friends told me that the situation is very serious at the frontline. One man from Uttar Pradesh was on the frontline. He came back last night and narrated the horrific conditions at the frontline. I have not been able to talk to my Punjabi friends for many days as they are all on the frontline. They have been sending maximum force to the frontline."
Published 13 July 2024, 07:17 IST