Bhubaneswar: In a major relief for his family and the State of Odisha, 36-year-old Adarsh Behera has safely returned to his home in Kotakana village, Jagatsinghpur, after surviving a harrowing 45-day ordeal as a hostage in war-torn Sudan.
Shri Behera arrived at the Biju Patnaik International Airport in Bhubaneswar on Wednesday morning, where he was greeted by emotional family members, including his three-year-old son.
Shri Adarsh Behera had moved to Sudan in 2022 to work as a mechanic at the Sukarati Plastic Factory in Al-Fashir, North Darfur. As the civil war between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) intensified, Al-Fashir became a primary battleground.
In early November 2025, Shri Behera was abducted at gunpoint by RSF militia members who initially mistook him for a member of the opposing military forces.
During his 45 days in captivity, Shri Behera was subjected to severe hardships. He recounted being mercilessly beaten upon his capture and later held in a cell lacking basic amenities. He described a period of prolonged hunger, torture, and being forced to walk through jungles as his captors moved him to different locations, including the RSF stronghold of Nyala.
At one point, a video surfaced online showing Shri Behera surrounded by armed men who asked him if he knew Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan, a moment that highlighted the surreal and terrifying nature of his situation.
The rescue was the result of high-level diplomatic coordination. After a video of Adarsh pleading for help went viral, his parents met with Odisha Chief Minister Shri Mohan Charan Majhi in Paradip to seek government intervention.
Chief Minister Shri Majhi subsequently engaged with the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and the Indian Embassy in Sudan.
Jagatsinghpur MP Shri Bibhu Prasad Tarai also raised the issue in the Lok Sabha, urging the central government to use all diplomatic channels. The Indian government worked alongside international interlocutors and Sudanese authorities to secure his release. Following his freedom, Behera was evacuated via Abu Dhabi and Hyderabad before finally reaching Odisha.
Upon his return, Shri Behera expressed profound gratitude to the state and central governments, describing his survival as a rebirth. His wife, Sasmita, has appealed to the state government to help secure employment for him within Odisha so that he no longer needs to seek work in high-risk zones abroad to support their two young children.