217 Indians joined Russian army, 49 dead, Centre tells SC

NEW DELHI: Union govt has told SC that as many as 217 Indians had joined Russian forces, of which 49 died and six are missing in action in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. The govt said the Indian Embassy is making efforts to bring back the 139 persons who have been released from military service, reports Dhananjay Mahapatra.

Representing MEA, additional solicitor general Aishwarya Bhati told a bench led by CJI Surya Kant that while Russia confirmed six Indians are missing, the status of 23 others remains unknown.

When relatives of some of these Indians serving in the Russian forces complained that the Indian govt was not helping with repatriation, Bhati said: "The Indian embassy remains in constant communication with Russia for verification and confirmation of the remaining cases of reported deaths and is actively assisting their return to India," she said.

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Russia lured foreigners into its army with fat perks: Govt
So far, 48 air tickets have been provided under Indian Community Welfare Fund," Bhati said.

Explaining why large number of Indians are joining Russian army despite the ongoing war with Ukraine, the Centre told SC that Russia lured foreigners into its army with lucrative packages, social security, compensation, citizenship offers and remission of prison sentences.

"It appears that certain Indian nationals voluntarily signed contracts to join Russian army, lured by the attractive salary package that amounts to an upfront signing bonus of around $5,000 USD and a monthly salary of $2,500 USD, in addition to promise of Russian citizenship, social benefits and compensation of $1,68,000 in case of death," Bhati said.

She said two Indian students, Kishore Saravanan and Sahil Mahamadhusen Majothi, had signed the military contracts to avail of amnesty while serving prison sentences in narcotics cases.

While Saravanan was released from armed forces on Indian govt's intervention, he stayed in Russia and took its citizenship.

Majothi had reportedly surrendered to Ukrainian forces, and the govt is taking up his case with that country, she said, adding that Russian authorities had refused to recruit Ashim Kumar Chatterjee from Kolkata on Indian govt's intervention.

Though the petitioner's counsel had been given the status report more than a week back, the lawyer told the bench that the report was given to him on Thursday, a day prior to the hearing in court. Bhati deprecated the lawyer's attempt to sensationalise the somber issue and said the required assistance is being provided to families of the deceased for claiming compensation from Russian authorities.

Out of four compensation claims submitted through Indian embassy to Russian authorities, one family has received compensation. She said three other claims, submitted independently, had also been cleared and compensation has been paid by Russian govt to the families.

"To facilitate the tracing of missing individuals and identification of mortal remains, DNA reports of immediate family members of 21 individuals have been collected and transmitted to Russian authorities with active facilitation by Indian govt," she said.

Govt informed SC that of the 26 individuals referred to in petition, 14 have died, 11 are reported by Russian authorities as missing in action and one has been imprisoned for eight years after being convicted of molestation charges - the person was arrested in Apr last year and sentenced in Feb this year. It said Russian authorities have informed Indian govt that recovery/extrication of mortal remains of Indians from conflict zone is not possible at present.

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