Russian Army soldiers (Image credit: AP)

New Delhi: The Central Government has told the Supreme Court that 217 Indians joined the Russian Army during the Russia-Ukraine war, out of which 49 died and six are missing. As Dhananjay Mohapatra reports, the government said the Indian Embassy is making efforts to bring back 139 people who have been released from military service. Representing the Ministry of External Affairs, Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati told a bench led by CJI Surya Kant that while Russia has confirmed that six Indians are missing, the status of 23 others remains unknown. When relatives of some of these Indians serving in the Russian army complained that the Indian government was not facilitating repatriation, Bhati said: “The Indian Embassy is in constant touch with Russia for verification and confirmation of the remaining cases of reported deaths and is actively assisting their repatriation to India.”Also read: In the video of a party presser, the Army said, ‘An attempt to tarnish the image of the force’ Russia lured foreigners into its army by luring them with rich facilities: Government So far, 48 air tickets have been provided under the Indian Community Welfare Fund,” Bhati said.Explaining why a large number of Indians are joining the Russian Army despite the ongoing war with Ukraine, the Center told the Supreme Court that Russia lured foreigners into its army with attractive packages, social security, compensation, offer of citizenship and relaxation in jail term.Bhati said, “It appears that some Indian nationals have voluntarily signed contracts to join the Russian Army lured by attractive salary packages, which include an advance signing bonus of approximately US$5,000 and a monthly salary of US$2,500, besides the promise of Russian citizenship, social benefits and a compensation of $1,68,000 in case of death.”He said that two Indian students, Kishore Saravanan and Sahil Mahamadhusen Majothi, had signed military contracts to avail amnesty while serving jail sentences in narcotics cases. While Saravanan was released from the armed forces upon the intervention of the Indian government, he remained in Russia and took up citizenship there.Mazothy had reportedly surrendered to Ukrainian forces and the government was taking up his case with that country, he said, adding that Russian authorities had refused to recruit Ashim Kumar Chatterjee from Kolkata over the intervention of the Indian government.Although the status report was given to the petitioner’s counsel more than a week ago, the lawyer told the bench that the report was given to him on Thursday, a day before the hearing in the court. Bhati condemned the lawyer’s attempt to sensationalize this serious issue and said that necessary assistance is being provided to the families of the deceased to claim compensation from the Russian authorities.One of the four compensation claims submitted to the Russian authorities through the Indian Embassy has received compensation from the family. He said three other independently submitted claims had also been approved and the families had been compensated by the Russian government.“To facilitate the tracing of missing persons and identification of mortal remains, DNA reports of immediate family members of 21 persons have been collected and forwarded to the Russian authorities with the active facilitation of the Indian government,” he said.The government informed the Supreme Court that of the 26 individuals referred to in the petition, 14 are dead, 11 are reported missing in action by Russian authorities and one has been jailed for eight years after being convicted on molestation charges – the man was arrested in April last year and sentenced in February this year. It said Russian authorities have informed the Indian government that recovery/removal of remains of Indians from the conflict zone is not possible at present.Also read: Major General posed for selfie, Leh helicopter crash, pilot showed victory sign