External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar informed that the body of the Indian student who was killed due to shelling in Kharkiv, Ukraine, has been embalmed and kept in a mortuary there. It’d be brought back to India once shelling stops, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said, as per ANI. 

Naveen Gyanagoudar Shekharappa was killed a week back, as Russian forces shelled the city of Kharkiv, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) informed. The native of Chalageri in Ranebennur taluk in Karnataka’s Haveri district was reportedly studying medicine at the Kharkiv National Medical University. 

At the time, CM Bommai’s office had said, “All efforts will be made to bring back Naveen’s body to India. The CM said that the matter is being negotiated with foreign ministry officials”. 

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However, since then, there’s been some political controversies over bringing back Naveen’s body, as India has escalated its attempts to evacuate nationals trapped in Ukraine. 

BJP MLA Arvind Bellad, who represents the Hubli-Dharwad constituency in Karnataka, drew flak for his comments on bringing back the 21-year-old. He spoke to reporters, saying, “The government is putting in effort to bring back the mortal remains of Naveen. Ukraine is a war zone and everyone is aware of it. Efforts are being made and if possible, the body will be brought back”, and added, “While it is very challenging to bring back those who are alive, it has become even more difficult to bring back the dead because a dead body will consume more space on the flight. Instead, eight to 10 persons can be accommodated in place of a dead body, which would consume more space”. 

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Meanwhile, India’s evacuation process is going well, noted Union Minister of State for External Affairs, V Muraleedharan. As per PTI, he said “Out of the almost 20,000 Indian citizens including students in Ukraine, we have been able to evacuate more than 16,000 till now. Around 3,000 Indians are still in the neighbouring countries of Ukraine. In the north-eastern province of Ukraine, Sumy, there are around 600 students”, and added, “The embassy is making all arrangements to evacuate them. Since the conflict started, we have been able to evacuate almost 80 per cent of Indians from there. In the coming days, the rest of those stranded will also be brought back”.