A grim civil war in Sudan, with reports of mass killings by the rebel forces, reached the doorstep of an Indian family as the powerful paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, or RSF, allegedly kidnapped a man from Odisha.
The abducted Indian national, Adarsh Behera, 36, from Jagatsinghpur, Odisha, was working at a plastic factory in Sudan since 2022. A distress video of Behera surrounded by armed RSF fighters has gone viral, featuring a bizarre exchange where one of the militants is heard asking the captive Indian, “Do you know Shah Rukh Khan?”
Kidnapping And Viral Plea For Help
Reports said Behera was allegedly abducted from Al-Fashir city, some 1,000 km from the capital Khartoum, and taken to Nyala, the capital of South Darfur state, a known stronghold of the RSF.
In the video clip shared by his family, Behera is seen on the ground, pleading for assistance with folded hands:
“I am in Al-Fashir, where the situation is horrible. I have been staying here with a lot of difficulties for two years. My family members and children are very worried. I appeal to the Odisha government for help.”
Sudan Rebels captured Indian, asked him about Shahrukh Khan @iamsrk. Greeted him #Namaste.
Adarsh Kumar Behera has been working in Sukarati plastic factory in #Sudan, since 2022.
His family is worried and has requested the Ministry of External Affairs to bring him home.… pic.twitter.com/3eGvMu0cZd
— Zahack Tanvir — (@ZahackTanvir) November 4, 2025
The clip purportedly shows heavily armed RSF fighters around Behera, where one fighter asks the unlikely question about the Bollywood superstar. Another fighter then orders Behera to say: “Dagalo is good” – an apparent reference to RSF Commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (Hemedti).
The RSF And Sudan’s Civil Conflict
The RSF is a powerful paramilitary group led by General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, alias Hemedti, which was allied with the Sudanese government until the outbreak of the civil war in April 2023. The RSF has been fighting the Sudanese Armed Forces in a very brutal war.
The war was sparked by a power struggle between SAF General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and RSF Commander Hemedti, after the two disagreed over integrating the RSF into the military following the 2021 coup. Fighting has since spread to major cities, with RSF forces taking swathes of Darfur and Khartoum, displacing tens of thousands. RSF fighters were recently accused of killing 200 people in one incident.
Family’s Desperate Appeal
Sasmita, Behera’s wife, residing in Jagatsinghpur with their two sons, aged eight and three years, has made a desperate appeal to the Odisha government and the Ministry of External Affairs for intervention to ensure her husband’s safe return.
Sasmita recounted that her husband had been unreachable around October 20. She finally received a call on October 24, from an unknown number. “My husband was on the other end and was crying.
He told me he was abducted by terrorists while returning from work along with his boss. He said they were brutally attacking him and that they would release him only if the embassy or the Red Cross spoke to them.” Over 13 million people have been displaced by the civil conflict, which started last year. Violence has hit the capital Khartoum the hardest. The Indian Embassy in Sudan has yet to make a statement regarding the abduction of Behera.