NEW DELHI: Indian police said four people linked to a network of human traffickers have been arrested on suspicion of luring young men to Russia with the promise of lucrative jobs or university places only to force them to fight in the war in Ukraine.
About 35 Indian men were duped in this manner, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) said in March.
The four Indian nationals arrested were a translator, a person facilitating visa processing and the booking of airline tickets as well as two “main recruiters” for the southern states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu, the CBI said late on Tuesday.
The investigation “is continuing against other accused persons who are part of this international network of human traffickers,” the CBI said.
The families of two Indian men who were killed in the war have told Reuters they had gone to Russia expecting to work as “helpers” in the army.
India’s foreign ministry says each case has been “strongly taken up” with Russia. Moscow has not responded to repeated requests from Reuters for comment.
Other South Asian countries have also warned their citizens against such trafficking networks after multiple cases emerged of people being similarly duped into fighting in the Russian army.
Sri Lanka said on Wednesday that “a number” of its retired war veterans were lured to the Russia-Ukraine war front with the promise of a “handsome salary,” citizenship, and other benefits for serving in the army, none of which were granted.
“A significant number of war veterans have died and sustained injuries on the battlefield,” Sri Lanka’s Defense Ministry said, adding that the law would be “strictly enforced” in the matter.
A retired major and an employment agent have been arrested in this connection.
Nepal, which paused issuing work permits for Russia and Ukraine in January, has said several young unemployed Nepalis had been illegally recruited into the Russian army by agents who charged them hefty sums for visas.
At least 200 Nepalis are estimated to be serving in the Russian army and about 100 are missing, officials have said.
India has refused to condemn Russia over the war, calling instead for dialogue and diplomacy to end the conflict. The two countries have enjoyed a close relationship for decades, trading in items from fighter jets to tea.
India has also increased its purchase of cheap Russian oil since the war, with Moscow emerging as its top oil supplier in the last financial year for the second year in a row.
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Four arrested for duping young Indian men into fighting for Russia in Ukraine
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Four arrested for duping young Indian men into fighting for Russia in Ukraine
- Families of two Indian men who were killed in the war said that they had gone to Russia expecting to work as ‘helpers’ in the army
- At least 200 Nepalis are estimated to be serving in the Russian army and about 100 are missing
Austria turns Hitler’s home into a police station
BRAUNAU AM INN: Turning the house where Adolf Hitler was born into a police station has raised mixed emotions in his Austrian hometown.
“It’s a double-edged sword,” said Sibylle Treiblmaier, outside the house in the town of Braunau am Inn on the border with Germany.
While it might discourage far-right extremists from gathering at the site, it could have “been used better or differently,” the 53-year-old office assistant told AFP.
The government wants to “neutralize” the site and passed a law in 2016 to take control of the dilapidated building from its private owner.
Austria — which was annexed by Hitler’s Germany in 1938 — has repeatedly been criticized in the past for not fully acknowledging its responsibility in the Holocaust.
The far-right Freedom Party, founded by former Nazis, is ahead in the polls after getting the most votes in a national election for the first time in 2024, though it failed to form a government.
Last year, two streets in Braunau am Inn commemorating Nazis were renamed after years of complaints by activists.
- ‘Problematic’ -
The house where Hitler was born on April 20, 1889, and lived for a short period of his early life, is right in the center of town on a narrow shop-lined street.
A memorial stone in front reads: “For Peace, Freedom and Democracy. Never Again Fascism. Millions of Dead Warn.”
When AFP visited this week, workers were putting the finishing touches to the renovated facade.
Officers are scheduled to move in during “the second quarter of 2026,” the interior ministry said.
But for author Ludwig Laher, a member of the Mauthausen Committee Austria that represents Holocaust victims, “a police station is problematic, as the police... are obliged, in every political system, to protect what the state wants.”
An earlier idea to turn the house into a place where people would come together to discuss peace-building had “received a lot of support,” he told AFP.
Jasmin Stadler, a 34-year-old shop owner and Braunau native, said it would have been interesting to put Hitler’s birth in the house in a “historic context,” explaining more about the house.
She also slammed the 20-million-euro ($24-million) cost of the rebuild.
- ‘Bit of calm’ -
But others are in favor of the redesign of the house, which many years ago was rented by the interior ministry and housed a center for people with disabilities before it fell into disrepair.
Wolfgang Leithner, a 57-year-old electrical engineer, said turning it into a police station would “hopefully bring a bit of calm,” avoiding it becoming a shrine for far-right extremists.
“It makes sense to use the building and give it to the police, to the public authorities,” he said.
The office of Braunau’s conservative mayor declined an AFP request for comment.
Throughout Austria, debate on how to address the country’s Holocaust history has repeatedly flared.
Some 65,000 Austrian Jews were killed and 130,000 forced into exile during Nazi rule.
“It’s a double-edged sword,” said Sibylle Treiblmaier, outside the house in the town of Braunau am Inn on the border with Germany.
While it might discourage far-right extremists from gathering at the site, it could have “been used better or differently,” the 53-year-old office assistant told AFP.
The government wants to “neutralize” the site and passed a law in 2016 to take control of the dilapidated building from its private owner.
Austria — which was annexed by Hitler’s Germany in 1938 — has repeatedly been criticized in the past for not fully acknowledging its responsibility in the Holocaust.
The far-right Freedom Party, founded by former Nazis, is ahead in the polls after getting the most votes in a national election for the first time in 2024, though it failed to form a government.
Last year, two streets in Braunau am Inn commemorating Nazis were renamed after years of complaints by activists.
- ‘Problematic’ -
The house where Hitler was born on April 20, 1889, and lived for a short period of his early life, is right in the center of town on a narrow shop-lined street.
A memorial stone in front reads: “For Peace, Freedom and Democracy. Never Again Fascism. Millions of Dead Warn.”
When AFP visited this week, workers were putting the finishing touches to the renovated facade.
Officers are scheduled to move in during “the second quarter of 2026,” the interior ministry said.
But for author Ludwig Laher, a member of the Mauthausen Committee Austria that represents Holocaust victims, “a police station is problematic, as the police... are obliged, in every political system, to protect what the state wants.”
An earlier idea to turn the house into a place where people would come together to discuss peace-building had “received a lot of support,” he told AFP.
Jasmin Stadler, a 34-year-old shop owner and Braunau native, said it would have been interesting to put Hitler’s birth in the house in a “historic context,” explaining more about the house.
She also slammed the 20-million-euro ($24-million) cost of the rebuild.
- ‘Bit of calm’ -
But others are in favor of the redesign of the house, which many years ago was rented by the interior ministry and housed a center for people with disabilities before it fell into disrepair.
Wolfgang Leithner, a 57-year-old electrical engineer, said turning it into a police station would “hopefully bring a bit of calm,” avoiding it becoming a shrine for far-right extremists.
“It makes sense to use the building and give it to the police, to the public authorities,” he said.
The office of Braunau’s conservative mayor declined an AFP request for comment.
Throughout Austria, debate on how to address the country’s Holocaust history has repeatedly flared.
Some 65,000 Austrian Jews were killed and 130,000 forced into exile during Nazi rule.
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