Tilak Bahadur Budhathoki, also known as Tirkha Bahadur Budhathoki, from Sunchhahari Rural Municipality in Rolpa, has passed away while serving in the Russian army. His family performed the final rituals after receiving news of his death on Falgun 24.
Tilak, who was also a former ward chairman of Sunchhahari-5, traveled to Russia in Ashoj 2080. He is survived by his wife, a son, and a daughter.
According to his relative Begam Budhathoki, a ward member of Sunchhahari-5, Tilak’s friends informed the family about his death over the phone. His elder brother, Khagendra Budhathoki, said that Tilak had been out of contact since Falgun 13. “We tried to reach him in every possible way. We even contacted his friends. Later, the army informed us that he had died, and that’s how we got the news,” he told Onlinekhabar.
After receiving confirmation of his death, the family conducted the final rites using a symbolic body made of straw. “He went illegally and disappeared there. There is no way for his body to return. So, we had no choice but to complete the funeral rituals,” his brother Khagendra said.
Tilak had served in the Nepal Army during the Maoist insurgency. However, due to security concerns, his parents made him resign. “His parents were worried about him, so they forced him to quit the army. He stayed in the village for a while after leaving the job,” Begam told Onlinekhabar. Later, without informing his family, he left for Russia.
In the past, around 2063/2064 BS, Tilak had also attempted to go to Iraq illegally but was caught and sent back. He struggled with stress after resigning from the army and failing to go abroad. Eventually, he joined politics, switching from the Nepali Congress to CPN-UML, and became involved in local politics.
He was a district committee member of CPN-UML and in charge of Sunchhahari Rural Municipality. He won the ward chairman position in the 2074 BS elections when the UML secured two ward chairman seats in the municipality. He contested again in 2079 BS but lost. After the defeat, he decided to go to Russia.
According to Begam, Tilak did not inform his family about his departure to Russia. He frequently visited Kathmandu for work, and during one of these trips, he left for Russia. “His family only found out after he had already reached there,” Begam said.
Ash Bahadur Pun (Raktim), the former chairman of Sunchhahari Rural Municipality, said Tilak joined the Russian army due to difficult circumstances. He often mentioned how tough the situation was in war-torn Ukraine. “The reality is worse than it seems from the outside,” Tilak had told him.
His brother Khagendra said that after reaching Russia, Tilak frequently talked to his family about the situation there. “We even told him to find a way to come back, but since he had gone illegally, there was no option for him. He had no choice but to stay there,” he said. “He used to say, ‘Now that I’m here, life or death—it’s all the same.'”
Former chairman Ash Bahadur Pun remembers Tilak as a helpful and positive person. “He was very dedicated to his work. We worked together on many projects,” he said. “I still vividly remember him.”
