Bengaluru: A final-year medical student from Haveli, Karnataka state, was killed by heavy shelling by advancing Russian troops in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, prompting New Delhi to call in envoys from Russia and Ukraine and demand Thousands of Indians trapped in Ukraine make it through safely.

Naveen Shekharappa Gyandagoudar is only 21 years old in Haveri district, 300 kilometers from the capital Karnataka. He is a senior at Kharkiv State Medical University.

“MEA has confirmed that a man from Navin Karnataka has been shot dead in Kharkiv. Our chief secretary spoke to the foreign minister and confirmed this,” Karnataka Disaster Manoj Rajan, administrator and node officer responsible for the evacuation of students from Ukraine, said in a video message.

The 21-year-old’s death was first confirmed on Twitter by Foreign Ministry spokesman Alindan Bach, who said: “An Indian student was killed in the shelling in Kharkiv this morning”.

The office of Karnataka Chief Minister Basavavaraj Bommai later said the prime minister had spoken to Naveen’s father Shekar Gowda on the phone.

Shekar Gowda told the prime minister that he had a phone call with his son that morning, just hours before he was killed. Naveen makes two or three phone calls a day.

“This is a heavy blow. May God Almighty grant eternal peace to Naveen. You must endure this tragic event bravely,” Bomai told the grieving father.

Bommai’s office said every effort was being made to bring Naveen’s body to India. “Negotiations are ongoing with State Department officials on this matter,” Bomai said in a phone call with Naveen’s father.

The death of Naveen Shekharappa Gyandagoudar prompted the foreign ministry to urge Russia and Ukraine to take immediate action to ensure safe transit of Indian students stranded in the country.

“The foreign minister called on the Russian and Ukrainian ambassadors to reiterate their call for emergency safe passage for Indian nationals remaining in Kharkiv and other conflict zone cities. Similar measures are being taken by our ambassadors in Russia and Ukraine,” Bach added.

He added that the state government and unions were doing everything they could to bring students back from the war-torn country to safety.

It was not immediately clear how many students were still in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, where Russian artillery reportedly shelled residential areas on Monday. The total number of Indian students in Kharkiv is estimated to be between 2,000 and 4,000.

Complete News Source : Hindustan Times