Body of student killed in Ukraine brought back
BENGALURU: The body of the 21-year-old Indian student killed in war-torn Ukraine arrived in Bengaluru on Monday morning. Naveen Shekarappa Gyanagoudar was a fourth-year medical student at Kharkiv National Medical University. He was killed when he stepped out of his apartment for a nearby supermarket to buy some provisions.
Gyanagoudar’s family said they will conduct rituals as per the Veerashaiva-Lingayat community’s tradition before the body will be kept for a few hours for people to pay their respects. The body will then be taken in a procession and donated to SS Medical College for research. “We will perform the rituals as per our tradition and then we will donate his body...,” said Gyanagoudar’s father, Shekarappa.
Karnataka chief minister Basavaraj Bommai, who received the body around 3 am on Monday in Bengaluru, said it was almost impossible to bring it back from the war-hit country. He added they were initially sceptical about how would it be possible to do so from the war zone. Bommai said bringing back the remains was a Herculean task. “It is very unfortunate that so many people returned [from Ukraine] but Naveen lost his life in the bombing. It is very sad,” said Bommai.
He credited the Centre’s sustained and intense efforts for ensuring safe passage for a special flight that brought back the body.
“Naveen was to be received by his parents on his return as a doctor after completing his studies. It is unfortunate that his parents had to receive his remains,” Bommai said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier spoke to the student’s family and offered his condolences.
Bommai said under Operation Ganga, around 19,000 Indian students, including 572 from Karnataka, were brought back from Ukraine. “...62 students from the state returned before the start of the operation.” He added he was in constant contact with the Prime Minister’s Office and external affairs minister S Jaishankar.