Tamil Nadu Youth, Rejected By Indian Army In The Past Over Height, Takes Up Arms To Support Ukraine

Sainikhesh Ravichandran's family members are worried about him and want him to return home. 

Sainikhesh | Credit: ABP Nadu

Chennai: A 21-year-old youth from Tamil Nadu, who was rejected by the Indian Army twice, has taken up arms in support of Ukraine as part of the Georgian National Legion Paramilitary unit. As the conflict is at its peak, the aerospace engineering student is said to be fighting against Russian forces, according to a report in Times of India. 

Sainikhesh Ravichandran of Subramaniyampalayam in Coimbatore has joined the paramilitary unit comprising volunteers fighting for Ukraine amid the war, Times of India reported, qoting an intelligence report submitted to the Centre and the state government. Intelligence sleuths confirmed this after they met his parents in Coimbatore a few days back, the report said. 

The intelligence report shared details about Sainikhesh's family background, the reason for him to join the force, among others. A police officer, who was part of the team, told ToI that Sainikhesh's room was filled with pictures of soldiers.

He had completed his schooling at Vidya Vikasini Matriculation Institute, according to his family. 

The parents reportedly said he had tried to join the Army after Class 12, but he was rejected because of his height. He had then tried to find out if he could join the US army, but was reportedly told that he could not.

In September 2018, Sainikhesh took up a course at the National Aerospace University in Kharkiv, and his five-year course ends in July 2023. 

Worried about him, his family members had told him to return home but he refused, the ToI report said. 

"We are in a terrible situation so do not ask about my son," Sainikhesh's father Ravichandran was quoted as saying.

The family comprises Sainikhesh's father, mother Jhansi Lakshmi and younger brother Sairohit.

They have decided to meet officials in the state and Union governments to urge them to bring their son back home, the report said.