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Dr K Jagadeeswaran, who had been living in Armenia with his wife and daughter, was detained by immigration officials in Russia’s Sochi airport, and his documents were confiscated.
Dr K Jagadeeswaran was arrested by Russian authorities at Sochi airport. (AI-Generated Image)
A doctor from Tamil Nadu’s Tiruvallur district was allegedly detained by Russian authorities in Sochi in September this year and was tortured in custody, his wife has accused.
Dr K Jagadeeswaran, who has a degree in medicine from an Armenian University in 2022, had been living in Armenia with his wife Yamini and a baby girl since graduating. They visit their families in Tamil Nadu in August this year, according to his wife.
“I am from Chennai, while Jagadeeswaran hails from Tiruvallur. During our visit, my husband’s friend Shekhar Manikandan requested Jagadeeswaran to accompany him for Russia as he is able to converse well in the Russian language,” she told news agency PTI.
Jagadeeswaran’s friend reportedly ran an educational consultancy in Russia and wanted Jagadeeswaran to accompany him under a tourist visa. They left on September 15. However, what was supposed to be a short trip turned out to be a nightmare.
Doctor Not Allowed To Leave
Jagadeeswaran’s wife alleged that he and his friend were detained by immigration authorities at the Sochi airport on September 16, when they saw his passport and other documents, and confirmed that he could converse in Russian.
While Manikandan was released after a week and deported back to India, Jagadeeswaran was not allowed to return. Yamini said he was detained as police said he did not cooperate with immigration officials since he arrived.
“The immigration authorities have told me that my husband disobeyed their orders and did not respond to their questions. That is why they detained him. But that is not true,” she said. Yamini also said he was tortured and humiliated in custody for unknown reasons, and his health condition had deteriorated.
“Instead of giving a proper explanation on why he had been detained, my husband had been harassed, humiliated by the authorities. He was not given proper food and due to this, his health condition deteriorated. His sugar levels dropped to 1 per cent,” Yamini told PTI.
Later, the family arranged for a woman advocate to take his case, after which Jagadeeswaran was released and given only his passport. However, he was not given any other documents to make him eligible to travel from Russia, his wife alleged.
Family Approaches Centre
“Right now he is under the custody of the Russian lawyer whom we hired. The Indian Embassy in Moscow informed us that he should reach Moscow from Sochi for a safe return to India. But, due to lack of proper documents, he is unable to go to the Indian Embassy in Moscow,” Yamini said.
The family has approached the Ministry of External Affairs in Delhi, but so far it has not yielded any desired results. “I had given a complaint to the BJP Tamil Nadu office here. Through the media, I sincerely request the Central and State governments to take steps for the safe and early release of my husband from Russia,” she added.
This came after the MEA said it had recently received information about several Indian nationals being recruited into the Russian military. He added that India had raised the matter with Russian authorities, seeking the release of those recruited and calling for an end to such practices.
Aveek Banerjee is a Senior Sub Editor at News18. Based in Noida with a Master’s in Global Studies, Aveek has more than three years of experience in digital media and news curation, specialising in international…Read More
Aveek Banerjee is a Senior Sub Editor at News18. Based in Noida with a Master’s in Global Studies, Aveek has more than three years of experience in digital media and news curation, specialising in international… Read More
Tamil Nadu, India, India
November 09, 2025, 16:25 IST
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