Lok Sabha Question No. 263 (STARRED), answered on 2024-08-09
Subject: Indians in Russian Army
Ministry: EXTERNAL AFFAIRS
Asked by: Adv. Adoor Prakash, Shri Gaurav Gogoi

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS

## LOK SABHA

## STARRED QUESTION NO- 263

ANSWERED ON - 09.08.2024

## INDIANS IN RUSSIAN ARMY

## *263. SHRI GAURAV GOGOI

## ADV. ADOOR PRAKASH

Will the Minister of External Affairs be pleased to state:

(a)   the   details   about   the   specific   actions   taken   by   the   Government  to facilitate the safe and swift repatriation of 40 Indian nationals serving in the Russian Army to India;

(b)   whether   the   Government   has   launched   any   investigations   into   the practices used to recruit Indian nationals into the Russian Army following the reports of many misleading recruitments and if so, the details thereof; (c)   the   estimated   number   of   Indian   nationals   currently   serving   in   the

- armed forces of other nations across the globe;
- (d) whether the Government has any mechanism to monitor their safety and well-being, if so, the details thereof;
- (e) whether the Government is aware that trafficking of Indian youths to foreign countries on false promises of jobs are increasing; and

(f) if  so, the details of such cases which have come to the notice of the Government during the last three years and current year and the action taken by the Government in this regard?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER FOR EXTERNAL AFFAIRS

## (DR. SUBRAHMANYAM JAISHANKAR)

(a to f) A statement is laid on the table of the House.

Statement referred to in reply to parts (a) to (f) of the Lok Sabha Starred Question No. 263 for reply on 09/08/2024 regarding 'Indians in Russian Army'.

Early discharge of Indian nationals from the Russian armed forces, as well as   their   safety   and   well-being,   has   been   taken   up   strongly   by   the Government with relevant Russian authorities at various levels. While the exact number of such Indian nationals is not known, information currently available, indicates that 13 Indian nationals have already left the Russian armed forces while another 66 individuals are seeking early discharge. During his recent visit to Russia in July 2024, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi strongly reiterated the urgent need for early release of  all Indian nationals from the Russian armed forces.

The law enforcement authorities of India have taken action under relevant provisions   of   Indian   law   against   those   involved   in   misleading   Indian nationals into service in the Russian armed forces.

The number of Indian nationals in the armed forces of other nations is not known. Our Missions and Posts accord high priority to the safety, security and well-being of all Indian nationals abroad and take appropriate action, as and when any request for assistance is received.

Some instances have come to the notice of  Government  where Indian nationals,   including   youth,   were   lured   for   jobs   abroad   by   fraudulent agents/entities on the basis of misleading information. Expeditious and decisive action is initiated by the Ministry of  External Affairs   and   the   concerned   Indian   Missions/Posts   abroad,   whenever complaints   of   illegal   migration/human   trafficking   are   received.   The aggrieved Indian national is provided assistance and relief by the relevant Mission/Post which also takes up the issue suitably with local authorities, and the complaint is referred to the respective State Government for further action.  The status of follow up action in this regard for the last three years and the current year is at Annexure-A. Information about such fraudulent agents/entities is also updated on a regular basis on the eMigrate Portal. A total of 3,042 illegal agents have been notified on the portal till June 2024.

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## ANNEXURE-A

| Sl No.   | State/UT          | Number   | Number   | Number   | Number            | ATR Submitted by State Police   | ATR Submitted by State Police   | ATR Submitted by State Police   | ATR Submitted by State Police   | Number of Cases in which request for issue of prosecution sanction after investigation   | Number of Cases in which request for issue of prosecution sanction after investigation   | Number of Cases in which request for issue of prosecution sanction after investigation   | Number of Cases in which request for issue of prosecution sanction after investigation   | Number of Prosecution Sanction issued   | Number of Prosecution Sanction issued   | Number of Prosecution Sanction issued   | Number of Prosecution Sanction issued   |
|----------|-------------------|----------|----------|----------|-------------------|---------------------------------|---------------------------------|---------------------------------|---------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------|
| Sl No.   | State/UT          | 2021     | 2022     | 2023     | 2024 (till June)  | 2021 2022                       | 2023                            | 2024                            | (till June)                     | 2021                                                                                     | 2022                                                                                     | 202 3                                                                                    | 2024 (till June)                                                                         | 2021                                    | 202 2 2023                              | 2024 (till June)                        |                                         |
| 1.       | Andhra Pradesh    | 1,111    | 688 445  | 261      | 0                 | 0                               | 5*                              | -                               | 0                               | 0                                                                                        | 1                                                                                        | 0                                                                                        | 0                                                                                        | 0                                       | 1                                       | 0                                       |                                         |
| 2.       | Arunachal Pradesh | 0        | 0        | 0 0      | 0                 | 0                               | 0                               | 0                               | 0                               | 0                                                                                        | 0                                                                                        | 0                                                                                        | 0                                                                                        | 0                                       | 0                                       | 0                                       |                                         |
| 3.       | Assam             | 0        | 2        | 2 0      | 0                 | 1                               | 0                               | 0                               | 0                               | 0                                                                                        | 0                                                                                        | 0                                                                                        | 0                                                                                        |                                         |                                         | 0                                       |                                         |
| 4.       | Bihar             | 10       | 2        | 6 5      | 4 (FIR registered | 0                               | 1(FIR registere d)              | 1(FIR registered )              |                                 | 0 0                                                                                      | 0                                                                                        | 0                                                                                        | 0                                                                                        | 0                                       | 0                                       | 0                                       |                                         |
| 5.       | Chandigarh        | 0        | 0        | 3 0      |                   | 0 0                             | 0                               | 0                               | 0                               | 0                                                                                        | 0                                                                                        | 0                                                                                        | 0                                                                                        | 0                                       | 0                                       | 0                                       |                                         |
| 6.       | Chhattisgarh      | 1        | 0        | 0 1      |                   | 0 0                             | 0                               | 0                               |                                 | 0                                                                                        | 0                                                                                        | 0 0                                                                                      | 0                                                                                        | 0                                       | 0                                       | 0                                       |                                         |
| 7.       | Delhi             | 1        | 1        | 4 8      |                   | 0 0                             | 0                               |                                 | 0                               | 0                                                                                        | 0 0                                                                                      | 11                                                                                       | 0                                                                                        | 0                                       | 0                                       | 11                                      |                                         |
| 8.       | Goa               | 3        | 14       | 5 1      |                   | 0 5                             | 0                               | 1                               | 0                               | 0                                                                                        |                                                                                          | 0                                                                                        | 0                                                                                        |                                         |                                         |                                         |                                         |
| 9.       | Gujarat           | 2        | 2        | 2 2      |                   | 0 0                             | 1                               |                                 | 2                               | 0                                                                                        | 0                                                                                        | 0 0                                                                                      | 0                                                                                        | 0                                       | 0                                       | 0                                       |                                         |
| 10.      | Haryana           | 0        | 1        | 4 0      | 0                 | 0                               | 0                               | 0                               | 0                               | 0                                                                                        | 0                                                                                        | 1                                                                                        |                                                                                          | 0 0                                     | 0                                       | 1                                       |                                         |
| 11.      | Himachal Pradesh  | 0        | 3        | 4 0      | 0                 | 0                               | 1                               | 0                               | 0                               | 0                                                                                        |                                                                                          | 0 0                                                                                      | 0                                                                                        | 0                                       | 0                                       | 0                                       |                                         |
| 12.      | Jammu & Kashmir   | 0        | 1        | 1 0      | 0                 | 0                               | 0                               | 0                               |                                 | 0                                                                                        | 0                                                                                        | 1                                                                                        | 0 0                                                                                      | 0                                       | 1                                       | 0                                       |                                         |
| 13.      | Jharkhand         | 0        | 0        | 0 0      |                   | 0 0                             | 0                               | 0                               |                                 | 0                                                                                        | 0                                                                                        | 0                                                                                        | 0                                                                                        | 0                                       | 0 0                                     | 0                                       |                                         |
| 14.      | Karnataka         | 6        | 21       | 32 13    | 0                 | 4                               | 6                               | 0                               |                                 | 0                                                                                        | 1                                                                                        | 3                                                                                        | 0                                                                                        | 0 1                                     | 3                                       | 0                                       |                                         |

| 15.             | Kerala*        | 65          | 69    |   110 | 95                      |   54 (FIRs registered) |   47 (FIRs register ed) |   87 (FIRs registere d) |   66 (FIRs registered ) |   2 |   7 |   7 |   1 |   2 |   7 7 | 1    |
|-----------------|----------------|-------------|-------|-------|-------------------------|------------------------|-------------------------|-------------------------|-------------------------|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-------|------|
| 16.             | Madhya Pradesh | 5 0         | 0     |     0 | 0                       |                      0 |                       0 |                       0 |                       0 |   0 |   0 |   0 |   0 |   0 |     0 | 0    |
| 17.             | Maharashtra 22 | 8           | 6     |     2 | 0                       |                      2 |                       1 |                       2 |                       0 |   0 |   0 |   1 |   0 |   0 |     0 | 1    |
| 18.             | Manipur        | 0 0         | 0     |     0 | 0                       |                      0 |                       0 |                       0 |                       0 |   0 |   0 |   0 |   0 |   0 |     0 | 0    |
| 19.             | Meghalaya 0    | 0           | 0     |     0 | 0                       |                      0 |                       0 |                       0 |                       0 |   0 |   0 |   0 |   0 |   0 |     0 | 0    |
| 20.             | Mizoram 0      | 0           | 2     |     0 | 0                       |                      0 |                       1 |                       0 |                       0 |   0 |   0 |   0 |   0 |   0 |     0 | 0    |
| 21.             | Nagaland       | 0 0         | 0     |     0 | 0                       |                      0 |                       0 |                       0 |                       0 |   0 |   0 |   0 |   0 |   0 |     0 | 0    |
| 22.             | Odisha         | 0           | 0     |     1 |                         |                      0 |                       0 |                       0 |                       0 |   0 |   0 |   0 |   0 |   0 |     0 | 0    |
| 23.             | Punjab 2       | 23          | 56    |     2 | 0                       |                      0 |                       0 |                       0 |                       0 |   0 |   0 |   0 |   0 |   0 |     0 | 0    |
| 24.             | Rajasthan      | 64          | 35    |    45 | 24 (one FIR registered) |                      2 |                       0 |                       0 |                       4 |   0 |   2 |   0 |   4 |   0 |     2 | 91 0 |
| 25.             | Sikkim         | 0 0         | 0     |     0 | 0                       |                      0 |                       0 |                       0 |                       0 |   0 |   0 |   0 |   0 |   0 |     0 | 0    |
| 26. Tamil       | Nadu 85        | 254         | 152   |    86 | 0                       |                      6 |                       7 |                       0 |                       1 |   0 |   1 |   0 |   1 |   0 |     1 | 0    |
| 27.             | Telangana      | 74 63       | 132   |    40 | -                       |                     19 |                      35 |                       2 |                       0 |   0 |   0 |   0 |   0 |   0 |     0 | 0    |
| 28.             | Tripura        | 0 0         | 0     |     0 | 0                       |                      0 |                       0 |                       0 |                       0 |   0 |   0 |   0 |   0 |   0 |     0 | 0    |
| 29. Uttarakhand | 0              | 0           | 0     |     5 | 0                       |                      0 |                       0 |                       0 |                       0 |   0 |   0 |   0 |   0 |   0 |     0 | 0    |
| 30.             | Uttar Pradesh  | 1 1         | 0     |     0 | 0                       |                      0 |                       0 |                       0 |                       0 |   2 |   0 |   0 |   0 |   2 |     0 | 0    |
| 31.             | West Bengal    | 74 10       | 5     |     8 | 0                       |                      1 |                       2 |                       0 |                       0 |   1 |   0 |   0 |   0 |   1 |     0 | 0    |
|                 | Total          | 1,553 1,227 | 1,006 |   575 | 82                      |                     87 |                     147 |                      74 |                       7 |  11 |  15 |  14 |   7 |  11 |    15 | 14   |

* One letter received from Andhra Pradesh Police informing that five emigrants have refused to file complaint against the agent.

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