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“After only 15 days of training, we were sent to the front along the Russia-Ukraine border. Wahan ladte kya, khud hi ko bachate the,” said 32-year-old Baldev.
He is one of the four men, who returned to their village in Haryana’s Kaithal on 16 September after spending a harrowing seven months in the Russian Army, fighting Ukraine. Six men from Mator village in Kaithal district had left for Russia early this year with hopes to get a well-paying job in Russia.
Little did they know that once they land there, they’ll be engaged in armed combat led by foreign nations. Of the six, four have returned; while 21-year-old Sahil is still in Russia, Ravi, 22 was killed in the conflict.
“Had we known that Ravi would be made to join the Russian army, we wouldn’t have sent him. We were told the job is in the transport sector,” Ravi’s brother Ajay had earlier told The Quint.
Amid acute unemployment in Haryana, hundreds of youths — especially from the Kurukshetra-Kaithal-Ambala belt — are increasingly looking for odd jobs abroad in order to sustain their families back home. Many end up falling prey to job scams, losing their hard-earned money to unscrupulous recruiting agents.
“I spent Rs 42 lakh and 33 thousand in the entire process. I had to sell my land, my gym and take a loan. I was promised my brother would get a job in Italy. But he somehow landed in Libya,” mourned Vikas, a resident of Lown village, Narwana tehsil in Jind. His 28-year-old brother was shot dead allegedly by the local mafia in Libya in November last year.
Although the unemployment rate among the youth (15-29 years) in Haryana seems to have declined since 2022 as per government data, labour migration — often metamorphosing into labour trafficking — remains unaccounted for.
In this story, The Quint speaks to those who left their homes in Haryana, hoping to make decent earnings, and came back dejected, even traumatised.
'Had No Idea I'll Be Taken to the Front'
“I was preparing for the Indian Army exam here but exceeded the age limit during the Covid-19 period. I heard through word of mouth that a few men had gone to Russia to work, and the salary was good — Rs 1.5 lakh per month. I decided to go,” Baldev told The Quint.
A month before Baldev left for Russia on 10 February, two men from his village — Ravi and Sahil — had gone there too. An “agent” had approached them, offering work in the transport department for a helper, for cleaning, loading and unloading. He had assured their families that their sons wouldn’t be taken anywhere close to the war zone.
“I was told I’d work as a helper for the Russian army but had no idea that I’d be sent to the frontlines to fight,” Baldev admitted. He claimed that he was made to sign a contract after he landed in Moscow on a tourist visa. “I didn’t really comprehend what it said. It was in Russian, and I don’t know the language,” said Baldev, who is a class-12 pass out.
When The Quint visited families of Sahil and Ravi in May, they said they were compelled to send their sons to Russia because of “no jobs here.”
“There is no work here. The limited job openings in Haryana are marred either by exam question paper leaks or ‘cash for jobs’,” Sahil’s father Bhag Singh told The Quint.
Earlier this year, there were reports of a Class 10 board exam question paper being leaked from a school in Nuh. In 2021, the Haryana State Service Commission, which provides jobs in the state government, had to cancel the police constable exam after it was reportedly leaked.
Spent 210 Days in a Foreign Land, Fighting a Foreign Enemy
“Can anyone go into combat with just 15 days of training? In my time there, I would just dodge bullets and try to save my life,” Baldev said. He added that he would go days without food and sleep in bunkers in the biting cold when he was on the front.
There were momentary bouts of relief when his contingent would retreat from the border. “I would record a video message and send it to my family, who was worried sick about my wellbeing out here. The network was patchy so could rarely make calls,” Baldev told The Quint. The language barrier worsened his chances of any comfort through communication.
“There were many Indians there, but the commander assigned them to different groups. Sabko alag alag kar diya tha (Everyone was separated),” Baldev said. He spent seven months—210 days—in a foreign land, fighting a foreign enemy.
Just when he thought there was no end in sight, on the night of 14 September, a commander in the Russian army summoned him.
“I was asked to pack my bags and leave the next day.” Baldev, along with three other men, came back to his village on 16 September. He claimed his repatriation was through a “government intervention” by India.
In July, Russia had reportedly agreed to discharge Indian men deployed in the Russian army within weeks. The decision, which was not formally announced by Russia, had come after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “direct intervention” on the issue during his two-day visit to Moscow from 9 to 11 July, The Hindu reported.
While Baldev returned, it was too late for Ravi. Ajay confirmed the news of his younger brother’s death on 23 July, months after there was no contact from him. However, he has still not received Ravi’s mortal remains from Russia or any compensation for his loss.
Meanwhile, Sahil’s family desperately awaits his return.
'Promised a Job in Italy, Taken to Libya'
Over 30 kilometres away from Mator, in Jind’s Lown village, Deepak mourns the loss of his 28-year-old brother, Vikas. He was among five men from Haryana and Punjab, who were duped by a “recruiting agent,” promised a well-paying job in Italy, and then abandoned in conflict-ridden Libya for nearly nine months.
The Quint had reported in October last year that five men were stranded in Libya and that their families back home had appealed to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) for their “immediate repatriation.” Unfortunately, only four of the five men were repatriated on 19 July, after being tormented for 17 months.
“Vikas was shot dead on 11 November 2023. He was kidnapped, along with four others, by the local mafia in Libya. They kept demanding ransom. When I couldn’t pay, they murdered my brother,” Deepak alleged.
Among the five men was Hari Singh, a resident of Barara town in Ambala district of Haryana, who is a veterinarian and used to work at a private clinic. He was offered a job in the field of veterinary sciences in Italy by an agent. Hari agreed, as did Vikas, who was an undergraduate at the time.
The men were allegedly flown to Dubai, then to Turkey and finally Tripoli in Libya, where they were stranded. Since India does not have a diplomatic mission in Libya, the men did not know where to go. They tried crossing the border at Benghazi to enter Egypt and seek help from the Indian Embassy there but failed.
'Brother Abducted in Libya, Demanded Lakhs in Ransom'
Then, they were intercepted allegedly by the local mafia, who robbed them of their belongings, phones and passports.
“They called us every 15-20 days and asked for $5,000 (~Rs 41 lakh) each time. I sold our family land to give the ransom in the hope that my brother would return. But they kept demanding more money.”Deepak, Vikas' brother
He added that he even had to sell the gym that he owned to raise money. But his brother did not return.
With no means to a livelihood, Deepak lives with his mother in their village, deep in debt.
He filed a First Information Report (FIR) against the recruiting agent under sections 370 (trafficking of persons), 406 (breach of trust), 506 (criminal intimidation), 420 (cheating) of the IPC. The agent has been arrested and is in jail.
Hari Singh, who returned with four others in July, now works as a farmer. He deeply regrets his decision to go to Italy. “I can’t tell what happened to us there. I cannot go through it again. I want to look forward now and not backwards, and live life like a normal person,” he told The Quint.
Meanwhile, Baldev said now that he is back, he is going to start looking for a new job.
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