BJP corporator's son prime accused in human trafficking network case of taking Indians to Russia-Ukraine war zone

Against the backdrop of the death of two Indians serving as support staff with Russian military units, CBI last week cracked down on human trafficking networks sending youth to the conflict zone by enticing them with lucrative jobs.

A case was registered against Delhi-based 24x7 RAS Overseas Foundation and its director Suyash Mukut, Mumbai-based OSD Bros Travels & Visa Services Pvt Ltd and its director Rakesh Pandey, Chandigarh-based Adventure Visa Services Pvt Ltd and its director Manjeet Singh and Dubai-based Baba Vlogs Overseas Recruitment Solutions Pvt Ltd and its director Faisal Abdul Mutalib Khan.

As per a report in The Indian Express, the prime accused in the case is a Madhya Pradesh BJP corporator's son.

Delhi-based 24x7 RAS Overseas Foundation's Suyash Mukut is the son of Anita Mukut, BJP's representative in the Dhar municipal council.

“She was already a Nigam Parshad (Municipal Councillor) when I took charge (of the district) last year. I can only say that law should take its own course,” BJP’s Dhar district president Manoj Somani told the publication.

The company reportedly sent 180 people to Russia. The agents "duped Indians on the pretext of admissions to dubious universities in Russia, it did not name the institutions," the publication wrote citing a CBI FIR.

The CBI FIR does not name Garima Balaya, the second director of the 24x7RAS Overseas Foundation. The publication reports that Balayan’s DIN status is deactivated which means that the company cannot file returns.

The Indian Express noted that the RAS Overseas website had three numbers on it, one of them belonging to Tanukant Sharma, an alleged accomplice of Mukut.

While Sharma's X account does not have any posts, it has four followers including Suyash Mukut and two “students of Russia’s Voronezh State Medical University”. One of these "students" is apparently the district president (Jaipur) of Shiv Sena.

Credit: @SharmaTanukant

The agents and visa firms are accused of hiring and sending youths to the Russia-Ukraine war zone in the guise of lucrative jobs, CBI officials had said. Around 35 instances of victims being sent abroad have been established so far.

(With PTI and DHNS inputs)