Ukraine war comes home, K’taka medical student first Indian casualty

Shyam Sundar Vattam | NT

The Ukraine war has come home with Naveen Shekarappa Gyangoudar, a fourth year medical student studying in the war-hit country, dying in shelling by Russian troops near Kharkiv on Tuesday. He is the first among a reported 20,000 Indians to be caught in the crossfire between Russian and Ukrainian forces. Naveen belonged to Chalageri village, Ranebennur taluk in Haveri district. He had reportedly taken shelter in a building which was hit by shells fired by Russian troops and is said to have died on the spot. He along with a group of medicos, had earlier appealed to the Indian government to evacuate them from the war zone due to the bloody fighting.

The Indian embassy confirmed the death of Naveen who had been talking with his parents twice a day since the war began. A pall of gloom descended on Chalageri village with his mother inconsolable. All efforts are on to bring the mortal remains of Naveen to India with former CM B.S.Yediyurappa promising to take up the matter with the Centre.

Meanwhile, one student from Karnataka was injured in shelling in Kharkiv in Ukraine, that left a medical student from the state dead, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said. He had accompanied Naveen, who died in the shelling.