Indian Embassy’s Inaction Unacceptable: Punjab Congress Leader Holds Authorities Responsible for Endangering Lives, Demands Immediate Redress and Justice
Punjab Newsline, Chandigarh-
Padma Shri Pargat Singh, Secretary of the All India Congress Committee and MLA, condemns the severe, ongoing failure of Indian and Punjab authorities to halt the forcible recruitment and deployment of scores of Punjabi and North Indian youths into the Russian Army. Despite repeated official government advisories, both the Centre and Punjab Government have exhibited alarming indifference, enabling traffickers and agents to carry out human smuggling on a grave scale.
“The continued inaction of the Ministry of External Affairs and the Indian Embassy in Moscow constitutes a breach of duty and an intolerable dereliction of responsibility,” Singh stated. “As government agencies persist in issuing ineffective advisories, our youths are dying on foreign battlefields while families are left unsupported, uninformed, and denied even the dignity of adequate investigation or compensation.”
Singh presented incontrovertible evidence of systemic failure: - In July 2025, 15 Punjabi youths were taken to Russia under false job promises; by August, five were dead, three missing, and seven were forcibly conscripted.
- Across North India, 126 youths remain trapped in the Russian Army; at least 15 are missing.
- Not a single substantive step has been taken to punish the nexus of agents responsible for these crimes, nor to repatriate stranded Indians or deliver justice to bereaved families.
“These are not isolated cases of fraud; this is a coordinated, large-scale operation that the Indian system has utterly failed to acknowledge or combat. The Punjab Government’s ongoing delay in prosecuting the agents – whose criminal exploitation even robs families of death benefits and insurance payouts – is inexcusable and unacceptable.”
Firsthand testimony from victims’ families underlines the gravity of this humanitarian crisis. Survivors and relatives report being completely abandoned by the Indian Embassy, suffering immense psychological and financial distress with no government recourse. The stories of Jagdeep Singh and Paraminder Kaur, and the countless missing, demand immediate visibility and action—not bureaucratic platitudes.
Pargat Singh demands: - Direct diplomatic engagement with Russian authorities at the highest level to secure release and repatriation of all Indian nationals.
Immediate legal proceedings—under anti-human trafficking statutes—against all agents and those complicit in this organized crime.
Expedited compensation and ongoing support for families who have lost loved ones or whose relatives are missing.
Formation of a joint task force—a binding commitment from the Centre, Punjab Government, and the Ministry of External Affairs—to ensure a permanent end to such exploitation.
“Anything less than decisive, public government intervention now would be a willful continuation of this human tragedy. The Congress Party will hold every responsible authority to account until every young Indian and every grieving family sees justice and safety restored,” Singh concluded.