‘It was all about bullets and …’: Bengal man duped into joining Ukraine war returns home after 8 months | Kolkata News – Times of India

Tamang with his wife and kids after reaching Bagdogra on Saturday

KALIMPONG: Urgen Tamang, the 47-year-old former Indian Army havildar who was tricked by recruiting agents into joining the conflict in Ukraine after being promised a security guard’s job in Russia, returned to his Kalimpong home on Saturday. He was received by his family and friends at Bagdogra airport in the morning, and when he reached Kalimpong around 6pm, the entire town turned up to welcome him.
The journey from the battlefields to the comforting arms of his loved ones was nothing short of a “miracle”, an emotional Tamang said, adding that his survival and return before Durga Puja was the “greatest gift of all”.
After retiring from the Army in 2018 , Tamang was working as a security guard in Gujarat. He left for Russia on Jan 18, expecting a much higher salary from his job as a security guard in Moscow. But as soon as he reached Moscow, he was whisked away to an army camp and trained in combat. A few days later, he was made to sign a bond and transferred to a jungle camp for training in handling guns and ammunition – a preparation for frontline deployment in the Ukraine war.
‘Emotional turmoil was tough to deal with’
What followed was the brutal reality of war and the constant fear of death. “It was all about bullets, and bombs. I kept praying to stay alive,” Tamang said on Saturday. All through the violence and chaos, he held on to hope. On March 20, before being sent to the frontline, he managed to send an SOS to the Indian govt.
It was only after PM Modi raised the issue with President Putin during his Moscow visit in July that Russia promised an early release of all Indian citizens fighting in its army.
“I am thankful to the Indian govt for facilitating my return,” Tamang said. He also thanked his well-wishers, particularly Kalimpong municipality chairman Rabi Pradhan, who worked tirelessly to bring him back. He said even the embassy head personally instructed him to thank Pradhan for his relentless support. It was Pradhan who bought the ticket that brought him home.
Pradhan, present at Bagdogra airport to receive him, said: “We kept trying… kept writing to everyone. Like his family, it was a tough period for me as well. Now finally, he is home.”
Tamang’s wife Ambika teared up as she recounted the agonising wait. “The emotional turmoil that followed after I viewed his desperate video plea in March was difficult to deal with. I had to stay strong and keep hoping that he would return,” she said.