Indian embassy dilligently purusing to bring back Naveen's body from Kharkiv, Jaishankar tells RS

The 21-year-old, who was killed on March 1, had gone from Chalageri in Haveri in Karnataka to Kharkiv in eastern Ukraine to pursue his dream to become a doctor

India's embassy in Ukraine is “diligently pursuing” return of the mortal remains of Naveen Shekharappa Gyanagoudar, who hailed from Karnataka, but was killed in the war zone of Kharkiv in the East European nation on March 1 last.

“He (Naveen) tragically succumbed to injuries received when he had gone to fetch groceries from a shop. We deeply mourn his untimely demise. Our prayers are with his family and his loved ones,” External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said, while making a statement in the Rajya Sabha on the situation in Ukraine on Tuesday. “Our embassy in Ukraine is diligently pursuing the repatriation of his mortal remains to India.”

India of late decided to temporarily relocate its embassy from Ukraine to Poland, as Russia expanded its military operations in the East European nation and fired missiles targeting military facilities in hitherto spared western region of the country too.

Also Read | Russia-Ukraine conflict to have major economic implications, says Jaishankar in Rajya Sabha

Naveen, a fourth-year student of Kharkiv National Medical University, had on March 1 gone out to buy food and had been waiting in a queue in front of a grocery store, when he was killed, purportedly due to shelling targeting a building at the central square of Kharkiv. The city had been under attack from Russian Armed Forces, which had launched military operations in Ukraine on February 24.

The 21-year-old had gone from Chalageri in Haveri in Karnataka to Kharkiv in eastern Ukraine to pursue his dream to become a doctor.

His body was taken from the scene of explosion to Kharkiv National Medical University hospital and subsequently embalmed and kept at the mortuary.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi too on Sunday directed that all possible efforts should be made to bring back the mortal remains of the deceased student.

India did later manage to evacuate its citizens – mostly students – from the war zones in Kharkiv and other places in eastern Ukraine. The continued war between the advancing Russian Army and the resisting Ukrainian Army, however, made it difficult for the government to make arrangements for repatriation of the mortal remains of Naveen.

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