No efforts to ensure return
Bivek Mathur
JAMMU, Dec 23: Families of two out of three youth from Jammu district, who were allegedly misled into joining the Russian Army, have claimed that they have lost all contact with their wards since September 2025.
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They said the third youth occasionally sends brief updates from near the Ukraine border, where he is reportedly performing a combat role, but even he has no information about the whereabouts of the other two.
The distressed families said that they have exhausted all possible efforts to ensure the safe return of the three youth, including repeatedly approaching the local representatives and staging protests within the Union Territory as well as at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi, but their efforts have not yielded any result so far.
Expressing frustration, the families also alleged that the Union Government has also not provided any clear information about the safety of the missing youth.
They believe that all three, Sachin Khajuria from Pahariwala, Mishriwala, Atul Sharma from Bawe Tallab, Mishriwala, and Sumeet Sharma from Kanachak, are posted along sensitive locations near the Ukraine border after unknowingly signing offer letters issued by a Russian agent.
According to them, the offer letters promised lucrative civilian jobs related to bunker construction near the Ukraine border.
The youth were allegedly assured a one-time payment of Rs 20 lakh, a monthly salary of Rs 2.5 lakh and other benefits.
Koushal Khajuria, brother of Sachin Khajuria, said they last spoke to Sachin through a WhatsApp call on September 13.
“He pleaded for help and told us that he, along with other youth, was being deployed at a sensitive location along the Ukraine border. Since then, his phone has been switched off,” he said.
Similarly, Mukeet Sharma, brother of Sumeet Sharma, said his brother has not communicated with the family through any mode since September 18.
“Our families are living in constant fear as we don’t even know where our children are right now,” he said.
He added that Atul Sharma has contacted his family several times since the trio went missing but claimed he too has no information about Sachin and Sumeet.
Sharma further said that the families have repeatedly shared their grievances with the local Member of Parliament Jugal Kishore Sharma and Minister Satish Sharma, but alleged that no serious efforts have been made to ensure the repatriation of the youth from Russia.
Meanwhile, to press for timely updates and the safe return of the youth, Koushal Khajuria said the families have participated in protests along with 61 other affected families from across the country at Jantar Mantar on November 3 and December 1 this year.
He said around 25 to 30 youth from other states have returned home after the protests, but none from Jammu has come back so far, adding that the uncertainty has only increased their anxiety.
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