Indian Engineer Detained in Moscow - Wife Says He's Being Pressured to Join Russia's Army

Chandan Gupta, an engineer from Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, working in Moscow for Flex Films Rus LLC - the local subsidiary of India's Flex Films/Uflex - was detained by Russian police on September 5, 2026. His wife, Sneha Gupta, says officers are pressuring him to join Russia's military. 

Her Appeal

Sneha Gupta posted a video appeal directly to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, asking them to intervene. The full video of her appeal is available on Instagram:

Her appeal translated from Hindi can be found below:

"My name is Sneha Gupta. I live in Moscow. My husband, Chandan Gupta, works for Uflex - an Indian company - from Sector 62, Noida. We are all living here on my husband's highly qualified specialist visa, through the company. He is an engineer and came here through Uflex. His passport number is V0781317, and his address is in Uttar Pradesh. 

I appeal to the honorable Chief Minister, to Yogi ji - the police here have detained him and taken him away, around 12:30 at night, and he hasn't done anything wrong. Yesterday was Moscow Day, and after harassing him, they've now put him in jail and won't let him out.

I want the honorable Chief Minister to help - I don't know the language here. I have my 10-year-old child with me, and I don't know how we get out of this. Please, please help my husband. Get him out, because here they are forcibly sending people into the Russian army, and they have a shortage of people in the army. Please, my request is that as many people as possible share this video so it reaches the Chief Minister."

Part of a Larger Pattern

This detention comes amid an already-acknowledged problem: India's Foreign Ministry said earlier this month that 227 Indian nationals have been recruited into Russia's armed forces, of whom 139 have been discharged and 51 have died. India says it remains engaged with Russia to secure the discharge and return of the rest.

The mechanism doesn't require someone to sign up voluntarily. As this site has documented, Russian authorities and the networks working with them are not selective about who they push toward a military contract. Whoever is available and vulnerable gets funneled toward the assault units. Foreign passport does not guarantee protection from enlisting into Russia's army.

If You're Facing This

If you or a relative are being pressured to sign a Russian military contract while in Russian custody, do not sign it. Contact your embassy immediately and request consular access - your embassy has the legal right to demand it. If you didn't manage to avoid coercion to military service in Russia - reach out to Ukraine's "I Want to Live" project to save your life.