Russia job promise turns nightmare for 25 men from Telangana, AP | Hyderabad News

Hyderabad: At least 25 men from Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, many of them Gulf returnees seeking fresh employment opportunities, are suspected to have travelled to Russia after being lured with promises of lucrative jobs by recruitment agents.As concerns mount over several of them allegedly being inducted into the Russian military, Yellareddypet police in Rajanna Sircilla district have registered a case against a Sircilla-based manpower agent following a complaint by Dommati Rakshitha, whose husband Kishan is among those reportedly sent to a war zone after leaving for what he believed was a cooking job.The case has brought into focus a growing number of men from Telangana and Andhra Pradesh who are believed to have travelled to Russia over the past few months in search of employment. Families claim that while some were promised jobs in kitchens, factories and packing units, a few later found themselves in military service after reaching Russia.Among those identified by families are Dommati Kishan, Mukkera Rajkumar, Vangala Koteswara Rao, Suppan Swamy, Potharaju Vijay Krishna, Gujju Jagabandhu and Manikyala Naresh. They hail from districts across Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. According to family members, Kishan and two others were taken into the Russian military after undergoing medical examinations.Though around 25 individuals have been traced so far, relatives and local activists suspect the actual number could be much higher, with more cases likely to emerge.Police registered a case on Oct 5 against Darnam Srinivas, described in the complaint as an Adithya Manpower agent based in Sircilla. The FIR invokes Section 318(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and provisions recorded as Sections 16 and 24 of the Immigration Act.For Kishan’s family in Narayanapur village of Yellareddypet mandal, the Russia offer appeared to be another opportunity to earn a livelihood abroad. Relatives said he had earlier spent nearly 15 years working in Bahrain before returning home.His wife Rakshitha, who was eight months pregnant when she approached the police and is also caring for a young son, alleged that Kishan paid ₹2.5 lakh towards visa and related expenses after being promised a cooking job with a good salary.“My husband trusted Srinivas and paid ₹2.50 lakh. Kishan was told that he would get a cooking job with a good salary and left for Russia on Sept 5,” she said. According to Rakshitha, communication from Kishan became sporadic after he reached Russia.“Ten days later, my husband was sent into the Russian Army. We received no information from him after that. On Oct 2, he sent a voice message saying he had been put in the Army and was facing severe difficulties,” Rakshitha said.In her complaint, she alleged that Kishan told her he had been made to join the Army without his consent and was facing danger from bomb attacks in the Ukraine war zone. She sought urgent intervention by the Union govt and the ministry of external affairs to facilitate his return.Documents shared by the family include images of a Russian internal passport issued in Kishan’s name on Sept 25, registration in Russia’s social insurance system on the same date, and photographs of a Russian military identification booklet and armed forces identification tag bearing his name.The documents appear to indicate that Russian authorities formally registered him in their administrative systems. However, they do not independently establish how the documents were obtained, the terms of any military contract or where Kishan may have been deployed.Rakshitha’s appeal remains simple: “My husband should be brought back to India.”The allegations echo complaints from other workers who travelled to Russia after being promised civilian jobs. Nagaraju Naik of Sevalal thanda in Mustabad mandal, who recently returned to India, said he had travelled there six months ago after being offered a fish packing job with a monthly salary of ₹70,000.“But after reaching there, I was made to work for a municipality instead of doing the promised job. I was paid only ₹35,000,” he said.Naik returned after working for two months and warned others against placing faith in such promises. “Agents are cheating people. Do not trust their assurances,” he said.As police probe the complaint, worried families continue to seek information about their relatives, fearing that more young men who left for jobs abroad may have ended up in circumstances vastly different from what they were promised.