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NEW DELHI: The mortal remains of 28-year-old Mandeep Kumar, Punjabi man tricked into joining Russian army, has finally reached his hometown Goraya in Jalandhar, after more than a year of waiting. He died in a drone attack while fighting for the Russian army in Ukraine, after being tricked by travel agents who promised him work in Italy but instead forced him into Russian military service.His elder brother, Jagdeep Kumar, confirmed receiving Mandeep’s remains at Delhi airport on Saturday. Jagdeep discovered his brother’s fate two months ago when his DNA samples matched with one of the bodies in Russia. “I came to know about the death of my brother two months back after my DNA samples given to the Russian authorities matched with one of the bodies,” Jagdeep told PTI.This started when, Mandeep, in September 2023, along with four others, traveled to Armenia, where they were promised jobs in Italy. Instead, they were taken to Russia and forced to join its military.His brother Jagdeep made two desperate trips to Russia, in February and October 2025, spending nearly three months searching for his brother. His last conversation with Mandeep was on March 3, 2024, lasting just 17-20 seconds, during which Mandeep begged to be rescued. Making matters worse, Mandeep had a congenital leg defect but was still forced into military service and sent to the war zone.Jagdeep said that ten Indians died fighting for Russia against Ukraine – three from Punjab and seven from Uttar Pradesh and Jammu. He’s now demanding action against the travel agents who deceived his brother.Although, In view of such incidents, India has demanded Russia stop recruiting Indian nationals as military support staff in September last year. The government also warned its citizens about the dangers of joining the Russian military and called for the release of all Indians currently serving in Russian armed forces.
