Family refuses to cremate Russian army recruit till travel agents are arrested

Jalandhar: The family of Mandeep Kumar, a Goraya resident who was recruited into the Russian army and killed in the war with Ukraine, has refused to cremate him until travel agents named in the FIR registered in May 2024 are arrested. His mortal remains reached Goraya late on Saturday night, and the family announced their decision on Sunday.Mandeep, along with four others, had been tricked into travelling to Russia. The group had been promised that they would be sent to Italy. While the four others eventually returned to India, Mandeep ended up being recruited into the Russian army. His family last heard from him in March 2024.Mandeep's brother, Jagdeep Kumar, travelled to Russia twice in search of information about him. His first visit was in March, when he stayed for three weeks. During his second visit, he stayed for two months and returned on Nov 8. In the last week of Dec, he met Rajya Sabha member Baba Balbir Singh Seechewal and informed him that the Russian army had confirmed the deaths of 10 Indians.Jagdeep provided his DNA sample twice to confirm his brother's identity. After confirmation, Mandeep's body was flown from Russia to Delhi on Saturday. While Jagdeep was aware of the developments, the rest of the family learnt about Mandeep's death only when the body reached their home late on Saturday evening.Jagdeep alleged that even though the FIR was registered in May 2024, no arrests had been made so far. According to the FIR, the family had paid Rs 31.50 lakh when Mandeep and the four others were in Armenia and attempting to reach Italy. They had been promised a route through Russia, Finland and Germany. Instead, they were tricked into landing in Russia in Dec 2023, where they became trapped. The other four were brought back to India, but Mandeep stayed behind in Dec 2023.Jagdeep said that among the 10 Indians reported dead, three were from Punjab and seven from Uttar Pradesh and Jammu. The family of Tejpal Singh from Amritsar had known about his death for a year. Jagdeep said he remained in contact with families of four others — Arvind Kumar from Lucknow, Dhirendra Kumar from Uttar Pradesh, Vinod Yadav and Yogendra Yadav — in addition to five more families.Jagdeep said he decided to travel to Russia after failing to find information about Mandeep. He said Seechewal helped by arranging tickets and providing a letter that ensured he did not face difficulties there.Phillaur MLA Vikramjit Singh Chaudhary visited the family on Sunday and expressed solidarity with their decision to withhold the cremation until action is taken against the accused. MSID:: 126335965 413 |