If a group of medical students who returned safely home to Bengal from war-torn Kyiv on Saturday are asked who they owe their biggest debt to, they may be tempted to chant “Mohammad Misbauddin zindabad”.

Misbauddin, a Birbhum boy and the senior-most among the 48 evacuees who included nine girls, planned and organised the perilous 900km journey to the Hungary border. He led the group on a walk along thunderous streets, a bus ride and two train trips, spending Rs 1.5 lakh of his own money to make the two-day journey smoother for everybody.

The Rampur resident, a final-year student at the Kyiv Medical University, had an able assistant: fourth-year student Raja Mondal of Sholua, Nadia.

Rajibul Mondal, a second-year medical student, said he would never forget the role Misbauddin played in forming the group and leading it across the border at a time the Indian government had left the students to fend for themselves in Ukraine.

“I’m grateful to Misbauddin, and to Raja. Without them, I might have still been stuck in Kyiv,” Rajibul said from his home in Gobindapur, Nadia.

Indian ministers have, however, been claiming the entire credit for “evacuations” on behalf of Prime Minister Narendra Modi — one of them controversially chanting “Mananeeya Modiji zindabad” inside an IAF evacuation aircraft — despite the evacuees having to make the dangerous journey from inside Ukraine to its borders all by themselves.

Misbauddin (right) and Raja Mondal. The Telegraph

The medical students in Kyiv had been thinking of leaving since February 25, a day after the Russian invasion began. But they wasted two days waiting for help from the Indian embassy.

“We got no help from the governments of India or Ukraine. Finally, I sat down with my friends on February 27 and decided to leave Kyiv anyway we could,” Misbauddin told The Telegraph.

To a question, he said: “Well, I did have the choice to leave alone, or with one or two of my closest friends. But that would have been heartless as the others would have faced a lot of trouble making their own way out of Ukraine.”

He added: “Some of them were running out of money too. So I decided to stay back to ensure everyone got out.”

His friend Raja started a WhatsApp group — “Bengali Evacuation” — after a meeting with Misbauddin. He included all the students from Bengal at the university so they could stay connected through the escape and afterwards.

“We immediately bought train tickets online for all 48 from Kyiv to Lviv. We didn’t know what to do further, but Misbauddin decided we would do everything together,” Raja said.

On February 28 morning, the group set off on their journey to Lviv, meaning to reach the border with either Poland or Hungary.

“Shelling began in the early hours. We had to walk around 6km to the nearest railway station, risking our lives. Misbauddin led from the front; I was at the end of the line,” Raja said.

Some of the group members said the journey was full of problems. First, they were separated on the train as there was a mad rush and Ukrainians were first priority. After reaching Lviv, they had to figure out which country they should head to, Poland or Hungary.

As there was a tremendous rush for the train to the Poland border and there were serpentine queues of Ukrainians, they realised it would be impossible to take the first train out.

“So we spent the night in the Lviv station in freezing cold. We then got a bus but it demanded $50 a head,” Misbauddin said.

He persuaded the driver to accept $2,000 for the 48 students.

“Most of the students had money in their accounts but the bus driver was only accepting dollars. I had the dollars, which I spent to get tickets for everyone,” Misbauddin said.

“They are all going to pay me back. Getting everyone back home safe was more important, anyway. I’m grateful to the Almighty that I had the money with me.”

After the bus brought them to the Chop railway station near Ukraine’s borders, from where the students would have to take a train to Hungary after clearing immigration, they faced another anxious wait.

“The queue at the immigration counter was far too long. We had to wait around 12 hours till the midnight of March 1-2 to complete our formalities. We finally found some officials of the Indian embassy,” Misbauddin said.

By then, Misbauddin was in touch with a Bengal-based social worker, Sadekul Islam, who said he had already informed external affairs ministry officials of the group’s arrival at the Hungary border.

“The Indian officials took us to Budapest and put us up in a good place. It was much-needed relief after such a long journey,” Misbauddin said.

The group had to wait in Budapest till March 4 to get a flight under Operation Ganga. They arrived at Calcutta airport on March 5.

Throughout their journey across Ukraine, the group of 48 had kept in touch with the 100-odd other Indian students stranded at the Kyiv university, filling them in on what they were experiencing to help those left behind plan their own way out.

Sadekul, who has during the pandemic helped many migrant workers return to Bengal from other states, praised Misbauddin and Raja.

“Misbauddin showed what a responsible senior should do,” he said.