CBI arrests 4 persons for trafficking Indians to fight for Russian army

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested four accused in a case related to the trafficking of Indian nationals for combat roles in the Russian Army. The CBI said that it has busted a major human trafficking network running across the country targeting gullible youths on the pretext of lucrative jobs abroad. In the case, the CBI arrested the two accused, who are residents of Kerala, and two other accused, who are residents of Mumbai.The agency arrested two alleged recruiters, Arun and Yesudas Junior (also known as Priyan), from Trivandrum in Kerala. The other two alleged recruiters, Anthony Michael Elangovan and Nijli Jobi Bensam were arrested on April 24 from Mumbai and Tamil Nadu, respectively, said officials mentioned above.
The agency said these traffickers have been operating as an organised network to lure Indian nationals through social media platforms and their local agents for highly paid jobs in Russia. As per the CBI, the trafficked Indian nationals were trained in combat roles and deployed at front bases in the Russia-Ukraine War Zone against their wishes. A case of human trafficking was registered against private visa consultancy firms and agents who were involved in the trafficking of Indian nationals to Russia.
Several Indians in the last few months claimed they were forced to join the Russian army with the promise of fake jobs. On March 3, CBI had filed a case in connection with the human trafficking racket, alleging that a network running across the country was targeting youngsters by luring them with a promise of lucrative jobs abroad. According to the agency, 35 such cases were found and several were detained for questioning, additionally, over Rs.50 lakh, incriminating documents, electronic records like laptops, mobiles, desktops etc., were seized.