Stopped, Assaulted At Ukraine Border, Say Some Indian Students

Several Indian students fleeing Ukraine have alleged that they were harassed, beaten by the Ukrainian guards at the Poland border and were not allowed to cross over.

In one of the videos shot during night time, a student wheeling his suitcase behind him is kicked by a guard in uniform. It is not clear if the student is Indian but several other students who have been camping at the Poland-Ukraine border have alleged that Indian students have been 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 faces. 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 to cross over but not us," said Ms Chaudhary, who praised the efforts of Indian embassy.

Ms Chaudhary said she would reassess her strategy once she is back at her hostel and try "alternative routes", may be take the Romania or Hungary border route.

Deeksha Pandey, a senior resident in neurology at Sumy National University, told NDTV that her experience has been "devastating".

"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.

Ms Pandey also had tough words for the Indian embassy in Ukraine.

"Advisories say that there are certain train schedules that have been provided from Kyiv to respective western cities but is 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 in proper manner," said Ms Pandey, adding that they are running out of supplies.

The Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson, Arindam Bagchi, said this evening that a dedicated Twitter handle has been set up to assist in the evacuation of Indians from Ukraine under Operation Ganga.  

A dedicated Twitter handle has been set up to assist in the evacuation of Indians from Ukraine ➡️ OpGanga Helpline.

Please direct all related queries to @opganga.

The Twitter account is called OpGanga Helpline and lists helpline numbers in Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovak Republic - all nations which share border with Ukraine.

Russia started military operations against Ukraine on Thursday morning after months of tension over the former Soviet republic's proximity to NATO.

There are still around 16,000 Indian students still stranded in Ukraine. Many have made desperate appeals for help, sharing photos and videos on social media from underground bunkers, and bomb shelters, where they have been sheltering from Russian bombs and missiles.

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