India working with Sudan authorities for release of Indian in custody of RSF militia: MEA

Sudanese ambassador Mohammed Abdalla Ali Eltom said earlier this week that both sides were in contact regarding the abduction of the Indian national by RSF

Published on: Nov 7, 2025, 20:02:12 IST

By Rezaul H Laskar

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NEW DELHI: India said on Friday it is working with authorities and international organisations in Sudan to secure the release of an Indian national captured by the anti-government Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia.

This handout picture released by the Sudanese Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on October 30, 2025, shows RSF members reportedly detaining a fighter in war-torn Sudan’s western Darfur region. (AFP)

Adarsh Behera, a 36-year-old resident of Odisha, was taken away by RSF fighters when the militia captured the strategic city of El Fasher last month. The RSF has issued videos showing Behera in their custody.

“One Indian national is in the custody of the RSF. As you know, there is fighting going on in the El-Fasher region,” external affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal told a weekly media briefing.

“We are in contact with the Sudan government and international organisations so that the Indian national can be safely freed and we can ensure his security,” he said without giving further details.

Earlier this week, Sudanese ambassador Mohammed Abdalla Ali Eltom said that authorities in his country were in contact with Indian counterparts regarding the abduction of the Indian national by the RSF, which he described as a “bloodthirsty militia” working as a proxy for foreign powers.

Behera, who was working in Sudan for the past three years, was captured when the RSF took over El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state and the last remaining stronghold of Sudanese forces in the Darfur region, on October 26.

“We hope that he is not harmed by the militia. The situation is unpredictable; you never know what they will do,” Eltom told reporters earlier.

The Indian embassy based in Port Sudan is closely following the situation and Sudan’s embassy in New Delhi has been in touch with the external affairs ministry and the foreign ministry in Port Sudan to secure the release of the Indian national.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Rezaul H Laskar
Rezaul Hasan Laskar is Foreign Editor with the Hindustan Times, which he joined in 2015. He began as a journalist in his hometown of Shillong in northeast India and has worked in newspapers and wire services over the years. He moved to New Delhi in 1997 and initially focused on defence, national security, Jammu and Kashmir and the northeast, while also working of foreign policy and international relations. He has been part of the media delegation accompanying PMs on foreign visits and has reported from destinations ranging from Tibet to Ukraine. Between 2007 and 2013, he was the Press Trust of India correspondent in Pakistan, one of only two Indian journalists allowed to report from the country. He extensively covered Pakistan’s domestic politics and the life of the common people, as well as the fallout of the 2008 Mumbai attacks on India-Pakistan relations and the subsequent trial in Pakistan of the suspects involved in the attack. As part of his reportage in Pakistan, he travelled the breadth of the country, from the Swat Valley to Balochistan. Reza’s first gig in journalism was writing a weekly music column, and music – especially classic rock – remains a keen interest. He is also a movie buff and a keen photographer.Read More

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