Indian Doctor Detained in Russia: Wife's Desperate Appeal for Government Intervention and Safe Return

The family has approached the Ministry of External Affairs in Delhi seeking assistance for his return home.

What began as a promising journey to Russia transformed into a harrowing experience for a physician from Tamil Nadu's Tiruvallur district after Russian authorities allegedly detained him in Sochi in September.

Dr. K Jagadeeswaran's spouse has made an urgent appeal to both Central and state governments to intervene and facilitate her husband's safe extradition back to India.

Recounting Jagadeeswaran's traumatic experience in Russia, his wife Yamini informed PTI that he endured torture and humiliation while in custody for reasons they remain unaware of, resulting in a significant decline in his health. Despite his release from detention, he lacks the necessary documentation to travel to Moscow for his return journey to India.

Yamini explained that Jagadeeswaran received his medical degree from an Armenian University in 2022, and they have resided in Armenia since that time.

She mentioned that the couple, who have a young daughter, wished to visit their relatives in Tamil Nadu in August this year.

"Since my husband works at a hospital in Armenia, we've been living there since 2022. We've been married for three years now. We simply wanted to visit our families in Tamil Nadu and arrived in August. I'm from Chennai while Jagadeeswaran is from Tiruvallur. During our stay, my husband's friend Shekhar Manikandan requested Jagadeeswaran to accompany him to Russia because of his Russian language proficiency," she explained to PTI on Sunday.

His friend operates an educational consultancy in Russia and invited Jagadeeswaran to travel with him on a tourist visa, she added.

"They departed on September 15 (from Chennai) and the troubles began after their arrival at Sochi airport," she said.

The immigration authorities took them for questioning directly from the airport, according to her account.

After examining my husband's passport and other documents, and discovering that Jagadeeswaran speaks Russian fluently, the immigration officials detained both him and his friend at Sochi airport on September 16, she recalled.

However, the officials released Shekhar Manikandan after one week and deported him back to India, while they refused to allow Jagadeeswaran's return. Subsequently, he was detained by police who claimed he failed to cooperate with immigration officials, she alleged.

"The immigration authorities told me that my husband disobeyed their instructions and refused to answer their questions, which led to his detention. But that isn't accurate," she asserted.

After engaging a female attorney in Sochi to handle his case, Jagadeeswaran was released and given only his passport. However, he wasn't provided with any other documentation that would permit him to travel within Russia, Yamini explained.

"Currently he's under the supervision of a Russian lawyer we hired. The Indian Embassy in Moscow informed us that he must reach Moscow from Sochi for a safe return to India. Unfortunately, without proper documentation, he cannot travel to the Indian Embassy in Moscow," she said.

"Instead of providing a proper explanation for his detention, my husband was harassed and humiliated by the authorities. He wasn't given adequate food, causing his health to deteriorate. His blood sugar levels dropped to 1 percent," she revealed.

She mentioned that the family contacted the Ministry of External Affairs in Delhi seeking a resolution, but it didn't produce the desired outcome. "I filed a complaint at the BJP Tamil Nadu office here," she added.

"Through the media, I sincerely urge both the Central and State governments to take immediate steps for my husband's safe and prompt release from Russia," she pleaded.