Prime Minister Narendra Modi today spoke to the father of the Indian student who was killed in Ukraine’s Kharkiv. The student, identified as Naveen Shekarappa Gyanagoudar, was a fourth-year student at the Kharkiv National Medical University. Karnataka Chief Minister BS Bommai also spoke to the family soon after the news of Naveen’s demise was confirmed by the Ministry of External Affairs. The chief minister’s office has said that all efforts are being made to bring back Naveen’s body to India.

“I know his family. They are very close to me. PM Modi had spoken to the family. We will try our best to recover the body and bring it back to India. I have requested PMO and MEA to help us to recover mortals,” said Bommai.

Naveen hails from Chalageri in the Haveri district of Karnataka. “We have confirmed from MEA the unfortunate demise of Naveen Shekharappa in Ukraine. He was from Chalageri, Haveri. He had left for a nearby store to buy something. Later his friend got a call from a local official that he has died,” said Manoj Rajan, Commissioner, Karnataka SDMA.

The boy’s father Gyanagoudar has alleged that no one from the Indian Embassy reached out to stranded Indian students in Kharkiv. Gyanagoudar told PTI that Naveen along with others from Karnataka was stuck in a bunker in Kharkiv.

The Ministry of External Affairs today said that an Indian team has been positioned in Russia to oversee the evacuation process. “From the Indian side, preparations for evacuation have been in place for sometime now. An Indian team has been positioned in the Russian city of Belgorod, close to the Ukrainian border. However, the conflict situation in and around Kharkiv and nearby cities has been an obstacle. Therefore, it is imperative that Russia and Ukraine respond to our need for safe passage urgently. In places where the conflict has not endangered movement, we’ve been able to evacuate our citizens,” reported ANI quoting sources.

It said that over 9000 Indian nationals have been brought out of Ukraine while a considerable number are now in safer areas.