A day after Rakesh Maurya’s body reached his home, thousands of kilometres away from his place of death, his family is grappling with questions over his death, the role of Indian authorities, and the nature of Russia’s relationship with India.
Maurya, who hailed from Sitarganj in Udham Singh Nagar, went to Russia in August, reportedly for studies, and was enlisted in the Russian army. In September, his family lost contact with him and wrote to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), seeking his return to India. His brother Deepu had tried to contact the Indian embassy in Russia and was hopeful of his return.
The family had earlier said that 30-year-old Rakesh, a BTech graduate, informed them that he had been recruited into the Russian army and was being sent for military training.
A day after his body reached their home and was cremated, Rakesh’s brother questioned the authorities for failing to save their citizen. “The media asked the Russian authorities about the men serving in the army there, and they responded diplomatically. We thought that after we raised a furore, he would be returned. We didn’t know what was going on there,” Deepu said.
Questioning the Indian officers in Moscow, he said that Indians are being treated as “slaves”. “When India’s own ally, Russia, treats its citizens like this, what will happen to those living in other countries? The media says Russia is an ally, and we believe it, but what happens there is entirely different from this portrayal,” he said. He also questioned the lack of coordination between the embassy and the MEA in attempting to bring those trapped back.
“We held on to a hope that he would come back. I had spoken to the embassy, but all my efforts have gone to waste; he didn’t return alive,” said his brother.
The family had earlier said that Rakesh left home to study at a university in St Petersburg. Rakesh later told his brother that the Russian army had seized his passport and documents.
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Udham Singh Nagar district administration officials refused to comment on the matter.
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