Overview
- Mandeep Kumar, 30, from Goraya in Punjab, was identified through DNA testing in Russia and his remains were returned to India over the weekend.
- His family says he was duped by travel agents via Armenia and forced into Russian military service despite a congenital disability.
- Brother Jagdeep Kumar twice traveled to Russia, resubmitted DNA after an earlier sample via Indian authorities yielded no result, engaged a local lawyer, and arranged the return of the body.
- Relatives allege limited assistance from the Punjab and central governments despite a March 2024 CBI FIR into a trafficking network, with help instead coming from political contacts.
- The timing of his death remains unclear, with the brother citing a November 2025 drone strike while another report indicates a likely death in March 2024, and the family claims more Indians have been coerced into the conflict.