A 21-year-old man from Chhattisgarh has allegedly been detained and tortured in Russia to force him to join the war, news agency Press Trust of India reported. His 17-year-old sister has approached the Bilaspur district administration for help in bringing him back.Local police have written to the Indian embassy over the allegations and are awaiting a response.
The district administration has also approached the Ministry of External Affairs.Ashi Dubey, a resident of the Bilha area, submitted a letter to the administration seeking government intervention to facilitate the return of her brother, Vinit Kumar Dubey. He had travelled to Russia earlier this month for a job.Bilaspur Senior Superintendent of Police Rajnesh Singh told PTI that the police had received Ashi's complaint alleging that her brother was being detained in Russia. "We have written to the Indian embassy about a week ago, but have not received a response so far.
Further action will be initiated as soon as we receive a reply," he said.Bilaspur Collector Sanjay Agrawal said he had discussed the matter with the SSP, who had written to the Indian embassy. The administration had also approached the Ministry of External Affairs, he said, expressing hope for a positive outcome.
Ashi told reporters that her brother had gone to Russia after being offered a job through a Telegram group. "He reached Russia on October 1 and sent a voice message to his family on October 6, saying that some people were taking him somewhere and that he would be busy. He also told them not to worry if they could not contact him," she said.The family later noticed someone speaking in the background of the voice message.
Ashi claimed that Vinit had been out of contact since October 7 and the family had received no calls or messages from him.She emailed the Indian embassy on October 8 to report her brother missing. "The embassy replied that it would look into the matter and try to trace his whereabouts," she claimed.Ashi further claimed that a person called the family from a Russian phone number on the night of October 10 and said Vinit had been implicated in a narcotics-related case and was being forced to join the war. The caller, who identified himself as Kishore, demanded Rs 3.5 lakh and refused to provide legal documents concerning Vinit unless the family paid the money.The family initially suspected that the call was a scam and stopped communicating with the caller, Ashi said.
She alleged that the same person later claimed her brother was being tortured to force him to join the war.Ashi has urged the district administration to coordinate with the Indian embassy to trace Vinit and facilitate his safe return to India. Police are awaiting the embassy's response before taking further action.- Ends