Mother of Gujarat youth in Ukraine military custody appeals for release, says lost contact three months ago

Ahmedabad: "The last time I spoke to my son was about three months ago," said Hasinaben Majothi, the mother of the 22-year-old who reportedly surrendered to Ukrainian forces three days after fighting for the Russian military in the Russia-Ukraine war.

She told DH that she only came to know about her son's whereabout on Tuesday evening following media reports. She requested the prime minister Narendra Modi, chief minister Bhupendra Patel to intervene and bring her only son back home.

The Gujarat police who met Hasinaben to look into the events leading to her son, Sahil, ending in the Ukrainian army's custody, said that Sahil was indeed arrested in a narcotics case and was jailed by the local court. The family had filed an appeal which was pending.

"Sahil had gone to Russia to study sometime in November last year. He also started a part time job as a courier delivery person. Her mother claimed that Sahil was tricked into the drug peddling and was arrested," two police officials who met the family told DH.

Sahil got arrested in the alleged drug case in April this year and since he was in the jail. Meanwhile, according to police, the family had received several calls claiming that Sahil would be released if certain amounts were paid. Police suspect they must be scamsters trying to take advantage of family's situation.

Abdul Ibrahim, Sahil's maternal uncle, also told reporters that the family had migrated to Morbi about two decades ago to live with her parents following separation. The family is originally from Pali district in Rajasthan.

According to reports, Sahil enlisted in the Russian army to avoid prison and surrendered within three days. The Ukrainian military on Tuesday released a video of Sahil in which he was heard saying, "I didn't want to stay in prison, so I signed a contract. But I wanted to get out of there." It is reported that he was sent to frontline after undergoing 16 days of training.

“I came across a Ukrainian trench position about two to three km away. I immediately put down my rifle and said that I didn’t want to fight. I needed help. I don’t want to go back to Russia,” he said in the video.

The incident comes amid reports of several Indian students have been forced to join Russian military The ministry of external affairs had only last month called upon Russia to repatriate 27 Indian citizens who were reported to be serving in the Russian army.