Ex-Armyman forced to join Ukraine war returns to family in Kalimpong
Times of India | 22 September 2024
Kalimpong: Urgen Tamang, the 47-year-old former Indian Army havildar who was tricked by recruiting agents and forced to fight in the ongoing conflict in Ukraine after being promised a security guard’s job in Russia, finally 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 war-torn 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”.
Tamang had retired from the Indian Army in 2018 and was working as a private security guard in Gujarat. He left for Russia on January 18, expecting a much higher salary from his job as a security guard in Moscow. Instead, he found himself embroiled in the war. As soon as he touched down at 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, where he received training in handling guns and ammunition — a preparation for frontline deployment in the Ukraine war.