New Delhi: In an exclusive video clip shared with The Wire on Sunday, four Nepali men near the Russia-Ukraine frontline appealed for help from India, saying they had been scammed by visa agents who lured them to Russia by telling them that they would be hired as helpers.
The four men seen in the video identified themselves as Sanjay, Ram, Santosh and Kumar Srestha. ‘When we came here, we were told to go to the frontline to fight in the war. We are facing a lot of problems here. Indian brothers who were with us are being rescued by their government,’ said Sanjay.
He went on to say that the Nepal government and embassy were not helping them, and they are now forced to appeal for help from the Indian government.
“We have big hopes from the Indian government that it wouldn’t disappoint us. Nepal and India have good relations. We want to ask for India’s help as it is powerful. The Nepal government is unable to help us. All of the Nepali men here want to go back home.’
He said that there were 30 men in his group, of which only five are left, and they are worried that they will be deployed to the frontline soon.
As per the Nepal government, over 400 Nepali men had gone to Russia and joined its army, lured by prospects of good salaries of about 300,000 Nepali rupees as ‘helpers’. Unofficial figures put that number at over a thousand.
In December last year, the Nepali police in Kathmandu cracked down on several travel agents and arrested 18 people on charges of human trafficking and forgery.
As per Nepal’s foreign ministry, 12 Nepali men have died in the Russian-Ukraine war, and about 100 went missing or injured in Russia.