Amid media reports about Indian youth forcefully inducted in the Russian Military and sent in Ukraine war, Punjab NRIs Affairs Minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal on Thursday said that he was in direct touch with the External Affairs Ministry and the Russian Ambassador to India.

As the Congress MLA Pargat Singh raised the matter of Punjabi youngsters during the zero hour, Dhaliwal informed the House that the issue has already been raised by the state government with the Centre.

“It is a serious matter which should be resolved earliest as these youngsters, majority of them belonging to Punjab, went to Russia on visitor visa but have been forcefully inducted into Russian Military Services,” he said, while adding that one of them died during the war.

Dhaliwal urged that appropriate action will be taken to provide suitable help to these youth to return home. He demanded that necessary action should also be taken against the violators of Visa Norms or Immigration Act. “Some media reports revealed that these youngsters were duped by agents on the promise of jobs and forced to work as a ‘helper’ for the Russian Army,” he said.

NRIs Affairs Minister also demanded that the body of the youth who died during the war, has to be brought back. He demanded the Union Government must immediately intervene in the matter. He informed that seven youngsters of India including Gagandeep Singh, Lovepreet Singh, Narain Singh, Gurpreet Singh (21), Gurpreet Singh (23) and others stuck up into the Ukraine war zone.