Duped by a travel agent and left stranded in Russia for over a month, a Jalandhar youth who endured harrowing conditions is now urging others not to fall prey to fraudulent agents promising lucrative jobs abroad.Forced to stay in tiny, dingy rooms within scrapyards and surviving a drone attack, the youth, who recently returned to Jalandhar, recounted his ordeal before mediapersons on Thursday.Akashdeep, a resident of the Ramnagar area, said he boarded a flight to Moscow on June 15 after his agent promised him a fruit-packing job in the Russian capital. Instead, he alleged, he was abandoned in a forested area outside Moscow after refusing to join the Russian army. He claimed he had been promised a work visa, attractive pay and decent working conditions, all of which turned out to be false assurances.Akashdeep said he spent around Rs 8-9 lakh on the trip and his stay in Russia. He has lodged a complaint with the Jalandhar police against Ramnagar-based agent Pawan Kumar and his associates in Delhi. Several videos posted by him on Instagram during his stay in Russia have since gone viral.“I was promised a job in Moscow packing fruit for a salary of Rs 1.2 lakh per month by Pawan Kumar. He struck a deal with my brother for Rs 6 lakh. On June 13, I was sent to Delhi, but the ticket provided to me turned out to be fake as it had already been used by a Russian traveller on June 8. After spending two days in Delhi, I was finally sent to Moscow on June 15,” Akashdeep alleged.He further claimed that the agent’s middlemen dropped him at a dilapidated facility in the middle of a forest, where he was forced to share a cramped room with 10 other people.According to him, the other youths stranded there were from Haryana and Rajasthan.Akashdeep alleged that he was repeatedly pressured to join the Russian army and, upon refusing, was abandoned by those who had arranged his travel.“Indian youths are promised jobs paying over Rs 1 lakh a month with 10-hour work shifts. But once they arrive, they are made to work up to 15 hours a day in extremely poor conditions. The agent told me to either join the army or take up other back-breaking jobs. When I refused, he said I was on my own. Agents here work with touts in Russia who recruit Indians for the army. Youngsters are lured with promises of huge earnings, but many do not receive the money they are promised,” he alleged.Abandoned and stranded, Akashdeep said he later found himself caught in a drone attack, during which many of the other youths fled in panic.“I, along with a youth from Rajasthan, followed railway tracks through the forest until we reached a railway station. There, a kind-hearted Russian helped us buy tickets and reach a friend in Moscow. With their help, I eventually managed to return to India,” he said.Seeking action against those responsible, Akashdeep said: “I only want my Rs 6 lakh back and strict action against the agents. I appeal to youngsters to beware of fraudulent travel agents. It is better to stay in India and work here than fall into such traps abroad.”