Mortal remains of Indian student killed in Ukraine arrives in Bengaluru; CM pays homage

The mortal remains of Naveen Shekarappa Gyanagoudar, the Karnataka student who was killed during shelling by the Russian forces in Ukraine's Kharkiv city on March 1, has reached the Kempegowda International Airport (KIAL) in Bengaluru in the wee hours of Monday.

Bengaluru: The body of Naveen Shekarappa Gyanagoudar, a final year medical student of Kharkiv Medical University, who died in a shelling attack in Ukraine on March 1, has reached the Bengaluru airport on Monday, said Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai. "Received & honoured body of our student Naveen Gyanagoudar killed in indiscriminate bomb shelling in Russia-Ukraine war. Thanks to PM Narendra Modi Ji & Dr S Jaishankar Ji for getting his mortal remains," CM Bommai tweeted.

The K'taka CM along with his cabinet colleagues paid homage to Naveen. Speaking to reporters, Chief Minister Bommai stated that a country's strength and might is known at the time of crisis. Prime Minister Narendra Modi "showed the might of the nation at this hour of crisis by bringing back the mortal remains of Naveen". "The body has arrived today and we have made all arrangements," he said.

"During evacuation time, our officers who were stationed at New Delhi, Ghaziabad, Mumbai and Bengaluru airport took care of students who returned from Ukraine. It was ensured that the students returned from Ukraine would reach their home safely," Bommai added. He further said that a dedicated helpline was initiated within 12 hours of the crisis. The state officials kept in touch with External Affairs Ministry as well as the Indian Embassy in Ukraine. The government also created a WhatsApp group and a website to reach out to students stuck in Ukraine, Bommai said, adding that "the officials have done a good job".

He thanked the state, Indian, Ukrainian and Poland's officers for helping and putting in efforts to bring back the mortal remains of the Karnataka student. "I am at pain that we could not bring back Naveen alive," the Chief Minister said. "Our government stands with Naveen's family. We have issued the compensation, and we will see what can be done for his younger brother," he stated. Health Minister K Sudhakar, MP from Haveri Shivakumar Udasi, MLA Arunkumar and Congress MLC Saleem Ahmad were also present at the airport.

Earlier, in a letter to PM Modi, Bommai had conveyed his gratitude for the Prime Minister's efforts to help retrieve Naveen's mortal remains from Kharkiv. Naveen of Karnataka's Haveri district had lost his life on March 1 in Kharkiv and his family have been requesting authorities to retrieve his body. However, heavy fighting in the area had prevented the retrieval till recently. Naveen's family has said that the body would be donated to a medical college after last rites.

Meanwhile, the family of the student thanked the Karnataka CM for bringing the mortal remains of the medical student from Ukraine. Naveen's younger brother, Harsha Shekarappa Gyanagoudar, who was present at the Kempegowda International Airport (KIAL) in Bengaluru thanked the Chief Minister for bringing the mortal remains. His relatives and villagers who were also present at the airport expressed their gratitude to Chief Minister Bommai.

Manoj Rajan, the nodal officer appointed by the state government for the evacuation of Karnataka students from Ukraine, stated that 572 Karnataka students have been brought back from Ukraine. He explained that the body was kept at Kyiv medical college after the authorities were requested on a humanitarian basis. The documentation was done through a funeral agent. The body was brought from Varsa Poland from Kyiv and via Dubai, it reached the Bengaluru airport. The body of Naveen was handed over to his family. The government has made arrangements for an ambulance to transport the body to his village in Haveri district. Saleem Ahmad, Congress MLC, who was present at the airport stated that he came to pay homage to Naveen on behalf of the party.

with Agency inputs