Indian student killed in Russian shelling of Ukraine’s Kharkiv; PM Modi offers heartfelt condolences to kin

An Indian student was killed on Tuesday during Russia's shelling of the Ukraine’s eastern city of Kharkiv. The victim, identified as Naveen Shekarappa Gyanagoudar, was a fourth-year medical student and a native of Karnataka, as per several media reports. Follow all LIVE updates on the Russia-Ukraine crisis here Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi took to Twitter to confirm the death of Naveen.  He added that the ministry was in touch with the family of the student. Bagchi tweeted:

With profound sorrow we confirm that an Indian student lost his life in shelling in Kharkiv this morning. The Ministry is in touch with his family.

We convey our deepest condolences to the family.

— Randhir Jaiswal (@MEAIndia) March 1, 2022

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday, spoke to the father of Naveen. Official sources said Modi offered his heartfelt condolences to the family following the tragedy. According to a report by Indian Express, Naveen’s hostelmate Sridharan Gopalakrishnan said, “Naveen was shot dead around 10.30 am Ukrainian time today. He was standing in the queue before a grocery shop when the Russian army fired at people. We have no information about his body. None of us was able to visit the hospital, probably where it is kept now.” As per ANI, Karnataka chief minister Basavaraj Bommai spoke to Naveen’s father and said that all efforts will be made to bring back Naveen’s body to India. The chief minister said that the matter was being negotiated with foreign ministry officials. Reacting to the death of Naveen, Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi said in a tweet that the government of India needs a strategic plan for safe evacuation. Rahul tweeted:

Received the tragic news of an Indian student Naveen losing his life in Ukraine.

My heartfelt condolences to his family and friends.

I reiterate, GOI needs a strategic plan for safe evacuation.

Every minute is precious.

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) March 1, 2022

More from World

$165bn in tariff revenue: Stopgap relief or legal mirage for America’s budget crisis? Ukraine says it needs $120bn for defence in 2026 as war grinds on

According to Al Jazeera, Ukrainian regional administration chief Oleg Synegubov said Russian artillery had pounded residential districts of the city, even though no Ukrainian army positions or strategic infrastructure were there. At least 11 people had been killed, he said on Monday. Students evacuated from war-hit Ukraine are being welcomed by local officials of their respective states at the airports and they are facilitating returnees to reach their homes safely, ANI said in a report. The state governments, including Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, and Uttarakhand, have set up help desks at various airports to assist the evacuees. During a recent high-level meeting on the Ukraine crisis, Prime Minister Narendra Modi instructed the Chief Secretaries of the states to contact the family members of all the students who are in Ukraine and inform them about the arrangements being made by the government. According to ANI, as part of ‘ Operation Ganga ’ on Tuesday, the seventh flight carrying 182 Indian nationals stranded in Ukraine reached Mumbai from Romania’s Bucharest. After the special flights reached Mumbai and New Delhi, the evacuees are being facilitated to reach their respective states, where local administration is helping them to reach their homes. An official at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad informed that the evacuees belonging to Kadapa and Valmikipuram are being provided with special vehicles to reach their homes. Officials in Goa are even visiting families of stranded students to communicate and assure them about safe evacuation from war-hit Ukraine. They assured the families of full help and support in bringing the children back at the earliest under `Operation Ganga’. Earlier today, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said that the eighth flight carrying 216 stranded Indian nationals has departed from Hungary’s capital Budapest for New Delhi while the ninth flight carrying 218 Indians took off from the Romanian capital Bucharest for New Delhi as part of ‘Operation Ganga’, ANI said. Meanwhile, Modi while presiding over a high-level meeting on Monday evening over the Ukraine crisis said that the entire government machinery is working round the clock to ensure that all stranded Indians in Ukraine are safe and secure, said the Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi. Meanwhile, four union ministers have been deputed to countries bordering the war-hit nation to oversee the rescue efforts. The government has also decided to send Union ministers Hardeep Puri, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Kiren Rijiju, and General (retd) V K Singh to Poland, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, and Moldova to oversee the evacuation of Indians, ANI reported. India is using the land routes to evacuate its citizens as Ukraine has closed its airspace for civilian aircraft following the Russian attack. Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News ,  India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.