Youth recruited in Russian army returns home

Gurpreet Singh, a youth from Harta village in Hoshiarpur who was stuck in Russia, reportedly returned home a few days ago. Although the family was reluctant to talk about it, his uncle Kashmir Singh confirmed that he had returned more than a week ago.

Village Sarpanch Balbir Singh also confirmed that he had come to know that Gurpreet has returned from Russia and he was seen a couple of times in the village too.

A villager who stays nearby said, "I have seen him more than a couple of times in past 8-10 days. Since the day he has returned, the family comes out of their home very less. Whenever they have to go anywhere, they quickly make him sit in a car and leave in a hurry. He keeps half of his face covered."

He said that they have come to know that one side of his face was badly injured during combat for which treatment is still going on. "He was admitted in a Russian hospital for treatment. From there, he slipped away and somehow managed to return to India," he said.

In March, Gurpreet, along with some other Indian youths, had — in a video sent to his family — alleged that they were forcibly recruited into the Russian army after going on tourist visa to celebrate New Year there. He and a group of Indian youths in combat uniform had alleged in the video that they were threatened with 10 years in jail for visa violation if they didn't join Russian army. After only 15 days of "training", he along with other youths was set to be sent to fight for Russia in the Ukraine war.