10,000 soldiers, including 48 Nepalis, were deployed in the main battle area of the border. After that, Manoj did not return.
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Before leaving for Europe, 30-year-old Manoj Singh Bhat of Kanda, Melauli Municipality-7, was earning a living by driving a truck.
It had only been two years since he bought his own truck after seeking a loan from someone else. After becoming a truck owner, he suddenly had the idea of going to Europe for a job abroad. He started dreaming of going to Europe and earning a lot of money to raise his family happily. Then he sold the truck and set off on a trip to Europe with his friend.
According to relatives, another person from Melauli had also gone abroad with him. Although he said he was going to Europe, Manoj had not told his family which country he was going to. He was in contact with his family for three months after leaving home. After that, Manoj's brother Ashok said that he had lost contact. After a long time, the family learned that Manoj had enlisted in the Russian army. Two years after he went abroad, the family was struck by lightning.
After the news of the death of Arjun Dutta Bhatt of Melauli-9, Asur, who had joined the Russian army in April, Manoj's family also started to worry. In the meantime, the Russian embassy in Nepal called Manoj's mother for a 'DNA' test in April. Brother Ashok said that the embassy confirmed that Manoj had died during the fighting on Poush 17 last year after receiving the 'DNA' sample given by his mother in April.
After the death was confirmed, family members and relatives are in mourning. After Manoj's body was not found, a Kush-effigy was made and cremated at the village's Maharudra Aryaghat on Poush 20, said ward chairman Ramchandra Bhatt. Out of four siblings, Manoj is the youngest. Currently, he has his parents, brother and wife at home. Didi is married. According to the family, the loan taken to buy a truck is also outstanding. On top of that, Manoj had sought loans even while going abroad. The grieving family is under financial pressure. The family has not been able to cope after losing their main supporter.
Falling into the trap of a ‘broker’, they set off on a trip to Russia
Two years ago, Manoj and Gopi Bista of Melauli-8 had set out on a journey together. During this time, they met a person in Kathmandu who was sending them for foreign employment. The person had taken 8 lakh rupees each from both of them and taken the responsibility of taking them to Moscow via Dubai and enrolling them in the Russian army. After both of them paid the money, preparations were made to send them to Moscow by preparing the necessary documents. According to relatives, the same person had sent Bhatt of Melauli-9, Asura to Moscow via Dubai 7 days before sending Bhatt and Bista. Manoj had informed the family that he was going to Europe and Arjun was going to Poland.
Of the three, Manoj and Arjun died during the war and Gopi has returned home safely. Bista said that the ‘broker’ took him to Moscow via Dubai and recruited him into the Russian army. After being recruited, Bista said that Manoj and himself were sent for training in a place called Rustaveli as per a one-year contract. ‘After the training, a separate team of 48 Nepalis was formed,’ he said, ‘and from Rustaveli, they were sent to the Ukrainian border, saying that they should go and fight.’ Bista said that 10,000 soldiers, including the 48 Nepalis, were deployed in the main battle area of the border. ‘We have not met Arjun since we left Moscow,’ he said.
According to the plan to enter Ukraine by entering the gas pipe from Belarus, six people including Bista were sent to open a space in Ukraine through the pipe. ‘This is where Manoj and I parted ways,’ he said. ‘My team met Manoj for the last time inside the pipe while returning after completing the work assigned to them.’ Bista said that he had spent about a year fighting in the same area, starving. He said that he had repeatedly requested the commander to search for Manoj during the fighting.
He said that a team was once formed to understand the condition of many people, including Manoj. A year after being deployed in the fighting, when he was sent to a medical facility for examination after experiencing eye problems, Bista said that he got in touch with a taxi with the help of a Russian soldier. He said that after getting in touch with the Nepali Embassy in Moscow by taxi, he was able to return home safely.
