A youth from Alipurduar district, who had apparently joined the Russian army last year, has reportedly been killed in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Family members of Indrajit Biswas, 25, a resident of Salkumarhat-I panchayat under Alipurduar police station, claimed that they came on know on Sunday he had died as a soldier, the news of which proved fatal for his 82-year-old grandfather at home the same day.
According to family members, Indrajit went to Russia in 2024 to work at a hotel.
In September last year, he reportedly joined the Russian army after the conflict between Russia and Ukraine intensified. His family claimed they when they heard of his decision to join the military, they had bitterly opposed it, but the youth had gone ahead with it.
They claimed that on Sunday, they received the news of his death from one of his friends over the phone.
The news killed Nil Ratan, Indrajit's grandfather, of shock, they said.
However, since Sunday, they had not been able to contact the caller, which left them without any official confirmation or details of the circumstances of Indrajit's purported death.
On Wednesday, Shankar Sinha, the office secretary of Manoj Tigga, the Alipurduar MP, accompanied the shocked family to the district collectorate where they submitted an appeal in writing, seeking assistance in repatriating Indrajit's body.
“The family has appealed to the district administration to take immediate steps to bring back Indrajit’s body home at the earliest,” Sinha said.
Pradip, the youth’s father who is a daily-rated worker by occupation, urged the state and central governments to intervene.
“We request them to take the necessary steps to bring back my son’s body to our place,” he said.
Sources in the district administration said that based on the father's appeal, they had started making inquiries about the youth and his reported death.
“However, an official confirmation (of the youth's death) is vital before efforts can be made to bring the body back," said a source.