Families of those stuck in Russia to gather at Delhi's Ramlila Maidan tomorrow
Jagdeep Kumar, brother of Mandeep Kumar who has been stuck in the Russian warzone since last year, will go to New Delhi on January 7 to appeal to the government and ensure the return of his kin.
He will be accompanied by family members of eight other missing persons in Russia. Jagdeep said nobody knew the pain they were going through. "A long wait of one year is something no one can understand. I haven't spoken with my brother since March and only me and my family know how paintful it is," he said.
The families will be gathering at Ramlila Maidan in New Delhi and will hold a peaceful protest, asking the government to speed up the process of getting their kin back.
He had recently met MP Balbir Singh Seechewal at Sultanpur Lodhi and raised the issue of his brother. Jagdeep had told Seechewal that there had been no contact or information regarding Mandeep for the last more than nine months. It is getting difficult for us with each passing day,” he said.
He was then accompanied by Rakesh Yadav from Azamgarh, UP, who had returned from Russia. Yadav shared his ordeal and told Seechewal and the media how difficult it was for him there.
Jagdeep is already keeping in touch with every family member of those stuck in Russia and he has been meeting them as well.
He had also travelled to Delhi a few months ago to meet an official from the Ministry of External Affairs, seeking information about his brother’s whereabouts.
The distressed brother is also planning to go Russia as he wanted to meet and see what has actually happened and why wasn't there any answer from the embassy or the government.
Jagdeep further added that his brother was among the other eight nationals missing in Russia. He said he was allegedly duped of Rs 6 lakh on the pretext of sending his brother from Armenia to Italy via Russia, Finland and Germany.
Strangely, until now, the police have arrested only two travel agents in this regard.
The police had lodged an FIR against eight travel agents in July. A 45-year-old suspect arrested from Dasuya, Hoshiarpur, was not a registered travel agent. The police said he also used to introduce himself as a journalist working for some news portal.
Jagdeep said he would also raise the matter of inaction against the agents as well as the main culprits.
