Kyiv: Several Indian students who are trying to flee from Ukraine have alleged that they were assaulted by the Ukrainian guards at the Poland border, and were not permitted to cross the border.
In one of the videos which have surfaced on the internet, it can be seen that one student pulling his suitcase and walking is kicked by a guard in uniform, from behind. It is not clear if the student is Indian, but many students are camping at the Poland-Ukraine border and have alleged that the Indian students are being harassed.
“Situation is getting worse day by day. What is happening is they are torturing us. Indian students are being tortured. They are not allowing us to cross over to Poland. Even women students are being harassed. They are being pulled by their hair and hit with rods. Some women students have suffered fractures and injuries,” Mansi Chaudhary, an Indian student, told NDTV from her car in Ukraine.
“Indian embassy diplomats are helping us with food and shelter. Border guards are not letting us cross. If someone tries to cross, they attack them with rods. They are punching them in the face. Yesterday, they also opened fire,” said Ms. Chaudhary returning from the Ukraine-Poland border after three days.
“I am in the car and am going back to my hostel. Have been waiting for three days, but we were not allowed to cross over. We have been tortured like animals. They are letting their people cross over but not us,” said Ms. Chaudhary, who praised the efforts of the Indian embassy.
She has said that she will reassess her strategy once she is back at her hostel. She would try “alternative routes”, maybe take the Romania or Hungary border route.
Deeksha Pandey, a senior resident in neurology at Sumy National University, speaking of her experience said that it was a devastating one.
“People at the border are troubled and harassed. Girls are being pulled from their hair and tortured. I don’t know what’s the reason for the aggression,” she said.
Speaking of Indian Embassy in Ukraine she said, “Advisories say that there are certain train schedules from Kyiv to respective western cities but are the situation appropriate to travel. It is so risky. We are not able to get groceries for ourselves, how are we expected to travel from city to city in such a critical situation. Is there no importance for our life or something? And sometimes they say stay wherever you are. What are we supposed to do? Who are we supposed to trust here? No one is here to guide us properly.” She further added that they are running out of supplies.
An ‘urgent advisory’ has been issued by India for Indians, who wish to be evacuated from Ukraine via Poland.
“We have arranged 10 buses at Shehyni on the Ukraine side of the border to take Indians to the border checkpoints for transit entry into Poland,” it said.
“A dedicated Twitter handle has been set up to assist in the evacuation of Indians from Ukraine under Operation Ganga,” said The Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson, Arindam Bagchi.
The Twitter account is called OpGanga Helpline and lists helpline numbers in Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovak Republic – all nations which share a border with Ukraine.
There are almost 16,000 students stranded in the war-torn country. Many of them have made videos from underground bunkers, and bomb shelters, where they have been sheltering from Russian bombs and missiles, appealing for help.
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