Moving from city to city, working for meagre monthly remuneration for years, 29-year-old Sasmita Behera from Odisha’s Jagatsinghpur felt helpless when her husband, Adarsh Behera, 36, asked her three years ago if he should go to Sudan for better income. Reluctantly, she agreed to the Adarsh’s one-year job plan, not knowing that it was the last time she was seeing her husband in person.
Sasmita, with her two sons aged eight and three, is now running from pillar to post seeking safe return of Adarsh who has been kidnapped by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia in the war-torn country.
Promptly acting on her request, Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi has directed senior officers to coordinate with the Ministry of External Affairs for Adarsh’s safe return. Majhi has also directed the Odisha Resident Commissioner in New Delhi to stay in touch with the Indian Embassy in Sudan to ensure his release and return to India.
Earlier in the day, Leader of Opposition in Odisha Assembly and BJD president Naveen Patnaik sought the government’s intervention in Adarsh’s case. “Deeply concerned to know that Adarsh Behera from Jagatsinghpur district… Urge Indian government and the Ministry of External Affairs (@MEAIndia) to intervene into the matter with urgency and coordinate with the officials of Sudan for his early release.”
Sasmita, who is currently in Balasore, told The Indian Express: “He (Adarsh) used to call us every day. When I didn’t get a call for three to four days, I tried to contact him but failed. I thought he might be in some inaccessible areas. On October 29, I got a call from an unknown number and heard my husband saying that he had been abducted by the rebels and was in danger.”
She said she tried to call back and sent numerous messages to that number requesting the rebels to connect her with her husband. “A day later, I got a call from another number and this time my husband informed me that all his documents and phone had been seized by the rebels and they were torturing him. I also got a video that showed my husband was held captive by the RSF personnel. I got a third call from another number on Monday but could talk only for a few seconds,” said Sasmita.
Adarsh, a resident of Kotakana village in Jagatsinghpur district, had left for Sudan in December 2022, two months after he was blessed with a baby boy. “He (Adarsh) is the only son of his parents, who work as daily wagers. It was very difficult for him to meet the family’s expenses with his meagre salary. Even though we both worked in a plastic factory in Rajkot (Gujarat), Adarsh decided to go to Sudan for a year so that he could save some money. He hardly worked there for six to seven months following which the war started,” said Sasmita.
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Having worked in the sector for around 20 years without any formal education, Adarsh managed to go to Sudan on his own efforts using the internal network. He worked in North Darfur’s capital al-Fashir, which has been ravaged in the civil war between the Sudan Armed Forces, the national army and the RSF, the paramilitary forces since 2023. He was confined to a single room after the war started in the country.
Sasmita said he was abducted along with the owner of his company while trying to cross a war-torn area. “I was told to contact the Red Cross people and the Indian Embassy for his release. We are trying to do everything,” she said.
In Kotakana village, Adarsh’s parents are spending sleepless nights ever since they came to know about his abduction. “We have reported the issue to the local police station. We request the authorities to safely bring back our son,” said Adarsh’s mother.
Jagatsinghpur SP Ankit Kumar Verma said the local police are in touch with the Adarsh’s family. “We have collected his details and informed the matter officially to the Odisha government. The state government has been coordinating with the MEA and the Home Ministry. We are hopeful that he will return soon,” said the SP.
