Punjab man looking for brother in Russia finds his body after 1.5 years

A 30-year-old youth from Goraya in Punjab’s Jalandhar, who was duped by travel agents into joining the Russian army in 2023 and whose brother was frantically searching for him for the past over a year and a half, has been confirmed dead through DNA analysis.

Mandeep Kumar was killed in a drone attack fighting Ukraine on the Russian war front in November 2025, his brother Jagdeep Kumar said.

Jagdeep brought Mandeep's mortal remains from Russia to their native place in Goraya late Saturday night, with his parents unaware of the tragedy until the body reached home.

Recounting his ordeal, Jagdeep told The Tribune that he made two trips to Russia and submitted his DNA samples twice in a desperate attempt to trace his brother. “At one stage, I even planned to visit the Rostov-on-Don war zone, but Mandeep’s commander stopped me. The body was brought back from Rostov with the help of the Indian Embassy. I had engaged a local lawyer there, through whom the formalities were completed. He later informed me that Mandeep’s body had been found in Rostov. I sent my DNA sample for the second time in November, and within a week the death was confirmed. My brother was killed in a drone attack,” he said.

Jagdeep said he visited Russia in March and again in October last year. “I initially sent my DNA samples to the Indian Embassy through the Centre. When I met Mandeep’s commander, he asked for another sample, claiming he had no record of the earlier one. When the samples matched, my worst fears came true,” Jagdeep said, his voice choking.

Apart from his aged parents, Jagdeep’s family comprises his wife and a young son.

Blaming unscrupulous travel agents for his brother’s death, he said they had promised to take Mandeep to Finland but instead tricked him into joining the Russian army. “He was forced into combat and lost his life fighting Ukraine,” he said.

Jagdeep urged the Centre and the Punjab Government to intervene urgently to stop the recruitment of Indians into the Russian army. “Innocent Indian youths are still being lured and forced into Russian forces. This must be stopped immediately. I have confirmation of at least 13 more Indian deaths. Their families, too, have been searching for them for over a year,” he said.

Mandeep had left for Armenia in August 2023, from where he and four friends contacted a travel agent on the Bholath Road in Kapurthala through Facebook. “Once in Russia, they were starved, beaten and threatened with dire consequences. Mandeep called us from a Russian number on March 3, 2024, saying he had been enlisted in the Russian army and feared for his life,” Jagdeep said.

He said that he was offered monetary compensation by the Russian army for his brother’s death, but he refused to accept it. “Even now, around 800 to 900 Indians are believed to be there, and recruitment is still ongoing. I have shared with the Indian Embassy details of locations where the bodies of at least 12 other Indians, including two from Punjab, are kept. Their families have been searching for them for over a year,” he said.