Chandigarh, Sept 12 — Families of several young men from Punjab and Haryana trapped in the Russia-Ukraine war have accused authorities of going “soft” on travel agents and traffickers who allegedly lured their children abroad with false promises of jobs and then forced them into combat.
At least 15 youths from Punjab are believed to have been sent to Russia since June under the guise of employment opportunities but were later compelled to join the military, relatives said. Two youths from Fatehabad, Haryana, recently released a distress video from Ukraine, claiming they had been recruited into the Russian army against their will.
This comes despite India’s repeated appeals to Moscow not to enlist its nationals in the conflict.
On Thursday, families of stranded men from different districts of Punjab gathered in Chandigarh along with Congress MLA Pargat Singh, demanding urgent action.
Jagdeep Kumar of Goraya, Jalandhar, whose brother Mandeep is stuck in Ukraine, said the situation had turned grim. “At least five of the new recruits have died while three others are missing. The youths have been making frantic calls to the Indian embassy in Russia, but there has been little response,” he told The Tribune.
Gurmel Singh of Malerkotla, whose son is among the missing, and Parminder Kaur of Amritsar, whose husband Jagdeep Singh died in the conflict, alleged that travel agents were siphoning off compensation and pension benefits meant for victim families.
Calling the crisis a “systemic failure,” Pargat Singh blamed both state and central authorities for ignoring the racket. “The saddest part is the Punjab Police’s inability to track down these agents,” he said. “These are not isolated cases of fraud, but a coordinated trafficking racket that Indian authorities have failed to acknowledge or tackle.”
He demanded direct diplomatic engagement with Russian officials at the highest level to secure the release and safe return of all those stranded. “Immediate legal proceedings under trafficking laws must be initiated against travel agents and all those complicit in this organised crime. Compensation for victim families must be expedited, and a joint task force should be formed to end this exploitation,” he added.
Relatives present at the gathering urged the government to move beyond assurances and take concrete steps. Many said they feared more youths would fall prey to traffickers if the crackdown remained half-hearted.
