In November of the previous year, Mohammed Asfan, a Hyderabad resident, along with two other individuals from Uttar Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir, traveled to Russia with promises of employment as helpers in Russian government offices facilitated by agents. Mohammed Asfan’s last communication with his family was on December 31, 2023.
On March 6, the Indian embassy in Moscow confirmed the demise of the 30-year-old man, stating, “We have learnt about the tragic death of an Indian national Mr Mohammed Asfan. We are in touch with the family and Russian authorities. Mission will make efforts to send his mortal remains to India,” as posted on ‘X’ (formerly Twitter).
Embassy of India in Russia tweets, "We have learnt about the tragic death of an Indian national Mohammed Asfan. We are in touch with the family and Russian authorities. Mission will make efforts to send his mortal remains to India." pic.twitter.com/GsSxjkKFRJ
— ANI (@ANI) March 6, 2024
Recent revelations indicate that three youths from Kalaburagi, Karnataka, who initially sought employment as security guards in Russia, are now allegedly entangled in a private military outfit and deployed to the Russia-Ukraine border.
Expressing concern about the confirmation of his brother’s death, Mohammed Imran, brother of Mohammed Asfan, called for the arrest of the agents responsible for trapping Asfan. According to Mohammed Imran, the agents, one of whom operates from Dubai with a vlog called Baba Vlogs, and two others from Mumbai, extracted ₹3 lakh from each of the youths.
Earlier, Syed Nawaz Ali addressed a letter to Kalaburagi Deputy Commissioner Fouzia Tarannum and State Minister Priyank Kharge last month, urging immediate action for the repatriation of his son and companions. The Karnataka government has also written to the External Affairs Ministry, emphasizing the need for urgent intervention to ensure their safe return.