Overview
- The deceased were identified as Ajay Godara, 22, from Rajasthan, and Rakesh Kumar, 30, from Uttarakhand, whose remains reached Delhi on Wednesday before being taken to their hometowns.
- Both men had traveled to Russia on student visas and were allegedly funneled into army-related duties by agents promising cleaner or kitchen work, with Ajay earlier sending videos pleading for help and saying they were being forced toward the front.
- A Russian death certificate for Ajay states he died “during active military service,” while a friend said Rakesh was reported killed in the Donbas region after his last call home on August 30.
- India’s Ministry of External Affairs has taken up the issue with Russian authorities, even as a 2024 statement from the Russian Embassy claimed Indians were no longer being admitted and that discharges were being coordinated.
- Since September, reporting has recorded at least four Indian deaths and 59 missing in the war zone, as families demand a high-level probe and point to earlier protests in Delhi seeking government intervention.