“Please save us…our lives could be at risk at any moment. This may be our last call.”These were the last words spoken by 23-year-old Ankit Jangra from Kumharia village in Fatehabad, Haryana, to The Tribune on September 10, 2025, from Russia-controlled Ukrainian territory, where he and several other young Indians were allegedly forced by the Russian army to fight the war. Less than a day later, all contact with him was lost.On Saturday, his skeletal body arrived in Delhi before being taken to his village, where grief-stricken family members prepared for his last rites. The village remains in mourning while the whereabouts of his friend, Vijay Poonia, 25, who travelled with him to Russia, remain unknown.Ankit went to Russia in February 2025 on a study visa, enrolling for a language course at a college in Moscow. To support himself, he worked part-time at a restaurant. However, according to his family, he and Vijay, along with nearly 15 other young Indians from Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir, were lured by a woman promising high-paying jobs.Instead, they were reportedly forced into the Russian army and sent to fight in the Ukraine war. When families tried to contact them, the woman initially claimed they were dead and then blocked all communication.In his September 10 conversation with The Tribune, Ankit described the horrors they faced. He said the group was kept under strict military control in Selydove, an occupied territory which was 200-300 km away from Russia. They were promised Rs 20 lakh after 15 days of training and a monthly salary of Rs 1.5-2 lakh, but were never allowed to leave. The boys survived on bread and jam, living in harsh and inhumane conditions. Five of their group had already died, and some disappeared, believed killed. “When we ask to go back, Russian officers point guns at us and say: ‘You’ll either die here or kill the enemy. There’s no going back,’” Ankit had said.The family said they had repeatedly appealed for help, contacting authorities in Delhi and Chandigarh, the Russian Embassy, the Ministry of External Affairs, and the Ministry of Defence. Sirsa MP Kumari Selja and Rohtak MP Deepender Hooda also wrote to the Foreign Minister seeking intervention.On Friday, the family received the devastating confirmation that Ankit’s body would be sent home. His elder brother, Raghuvir Jangra, said the family had been desperately hoping for his safe return. “We had been praying every day, but this news has shattered us,” he said.