An Indian student who is claimed to fight for Russia captured by the Ukrainian forces

Ukraine has won an Indian national who is said to be fighting for Russian forces, the first known Indian detained in the ongoing war.

The 22 -year -old Sahil Mazheti from the Gujarat Indian state went to Russia to study computer engineering two years ago. His mother claims to have been falsely accused of a drug case last April.

Majoti joined the Russian army to avoid imprisonment for drug allegations, according to a video published by the army of Ukraine on Tuesday.

The Indian Foreign Ministry says it is investigating the case and has not received official communication from Ukraine. The BBC has asked the Russian government to respond.

In an interview with the BBC Gujarati, the mother of the cheerleads Hasina Mazheti said her son left for Russia in January 2024.

He finished a three -month language of the language in St. Petersburg before moving to Moscow for college, supporting himself as a part -time courier for the kitchen.

She claims that in April 2024, someone stuffed drugs into a parcel, handed over to the cheerleads during his delivery.

“The police caught him with it and accused him,” said Gia Hasina.

According to G -Ja Hasina, her son was detained, detained for six months and later sentenced to seven years in prison. The family hired a private lawyer in Russia to defend him, but they had no idea when or how he was attracted to the military.

“I don’t know how he ended up in Ukraine. I only understood through the viral video,” said Gia Hasina.

In A video posted by the 63rd Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian ArmyMajoti may be heard to say that he has been given a choice between joining the Russian army, with a fee for his service or in prison.

He said he was told he would serve in the military for a year before he was released.

Majoti claims that different people promise him different sums of money – from one hundred thousand to over a million rubles – but he has never received a payment.

He says he had passed 15 days of training in September 2024 and was sent to the battlefield a year later, on September 30.

The next day, on October 1, the cheerleades said he had a dispute with his commander, after which he separated from Russian soldiers. Then he came across a Ukrainian dugout and asked them for help, he added.

The BBC cannot independently check the date or location of the video in which he makes these allegations.

On Wednesday, after the video became viral, the Gujarat terrorism unit (ATS) questioned Mrs. Hasina and her brother in Ahmedabad. The relatives told her that she had separated from her husband around the birth of her son and supported her family as a seamstress while living with her maternal relatives.

ATS officials have confirmed the arrest of the cheerleaders and the subsequent detention in Russia. They said the family claimed that he had no contact with him after his arrest.

At their former measles school, teachers called the cheerleaders a “middle student”, but deeply motivated to fulfill their mother’s dreams through education. They spoke on condition of anonymity.

Local community leaders also turned to the government to intervene and secure its return.

“Many young men like him were trapped and dragged into the war,” said Casam Summy. “We appeal to the government to return Sahil and other young Indians who went abroad, looking for a job.”

The arrest of the cheerleades comes against the backdrop of increasing concerns about the recruitment of Indians in the Russian military. Reports Say over 150 Indians, some of the visas for students or visitors have joined. At least 12 were killed in the conflict and 16 disappeared.

In September, Indian officials called on Moscow to release and repatriate 27 Indian citizens who were hired in the army.

The Indian government consistently advises its citizens not to participate in the ongoing war in Ukraine.

“Once again, we urges all Indian citizens to stay away from the offers to serve in the Russian army as they are filled with a risk and risk to life,” said a spokesman for India Foreign Ministry last month.

Additional reporting from Roxy Gagdekar Chhara by Ahmedabad and Nikita Yadav from Delhi

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