Leader of Opposition in the Kerala Assembly, VD Satheesan has written a letter to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar urging immediate intervention by the central government to ensure the safe return of youths recruited by private agencies to the Russian army.
The Congress leader sought measures for the safe return of the three youths from the state trapped in the war zone and demanded a probe against the recruitment agencies that are a part of the human trafficking network, as per a PTI report.
"I urge your good self to make every effort to bring back all of those who are stuck in the combat zone and to initiate a comprehensive investigation against these recruitment agencies that form part of a large illegal trafficking network," said the Congress leader in the letter.
The Kerala LoP also said that it was "shocking" that some private recruitment companies in Kerala have been recruiting young people with the prospect of lucrative employment in Russia and sending them to war-battered Ukraine instead.
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"It is disturbing to learn that three young men from Kerala are among those stranded in war-torn Ukraine after being lured with the promise of a lucrative employment in Russia, only to be forced to engage in the continuing conflict," the letter said.
As per the family members of the three men, he said, they were taken to Russia by a recruitment agency with the promise of a whopping salary of Rs 2.5 lakh.
"But when they arrived, their passports and mobile phones were confiscated and they were then forced to fight for Russia against Ukraine. It is learnt that some of them are injured and their families back home have raised serious apprehension about the safety of the youths stranded in Ukraine," Satheesan said, as per the PTI report.