Bhubaneswar/New Delhi: After being held hostage for over one and half months in civil war-torn Sudan, Adarsha Behera, a youth from Odisha’s Jagatsinghpur district has been freed. This was informed by BJP MP from Jagatsinghpur Bibhu Prasad Tarai on Tuesday.

The MP said he had raised the issue in the Lok Sabha and urged the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) to intervene for the safe release of the abducted Odia youth.

According to Tarai, Adarsha will depart from Abu Dhabi at 11.40 pm on Tuesday and arrive in Hyderabad. He is scheduled to leave Hyderabad at 7 am on Wednesday and reach Biju Patnaik International Airport, Bhubaneswar, at 8.30 am.

Odisha CM sought MEA help

Notably, Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi had also sought urgent intervention from the MEA in November for Adarsha’s rescue. Acting on media reports, the Chief Minister had directed senior officials to initiate all necessary steps to ensure his safe return.

Following the directive, the Director of Intelligence wrote to the MEA seeking prompt intervention, while the Resident Commissioner in New Delhi urged the ministry to remain in touch with the Indian Embassy in Sudan and closely monitor developments to facilitate Adarsha’s release.

Adarsha from Tirtol

Adarsha Behera hails from Kotakana village under Tirtol police limits in Jagatsinghpur district. He had been working as a machine operator at a plastic factory in Sudan since 2022. In November, his family was informed that he had gone missing, raising concerns about his safety.

He was allegedly abducted at gunpoint by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a powerful paramilitary group involved in Sudan’s ongoing civil war, from Al-Fashir, about 1,000 km from Sudan’s capital Khartoum.

Before his abduction, Adarsha had sent an audio message to his wife, Susmita Behera, stating the abductors might release him if both the state and central governments intervened. A video later surfaced showing him seated with folded hands before the armed men, pleading for help.