Harjot Singh, the Indian student who was shot in Kyiv city of war-torn Ukraine a few days ago, will be retuning to Delhi today along with hundreds of other Indian nationals under evacuation mission ‘Operation Ganga’.
Singh is among the 200 stranded Indians being brought back from Poland, one of the countries that share borders with Ukraine. However, around 700 students are still trapped in Sumy, waging a grim battle for survival with supplies depleting fast and exit routes to safety blocked by fierce fighting.
“Harjot Singh is the Indian who was shot during the war in Kyiv. His passport was also lost in the chaos,” V K Singh tweeted. He said Harjot Singh is reaching India with him on Monday. “Hope there is a speedy recovery with home food and care,” the minister stated.
On February 27, 31-year-old Harjot Singh, along with his two friends, boarded a cab for the western Ukrainian city of Lviv in a bid to escape Kyiv. He received four bullets, including one in the chest.
“We got the news (about his return) from the media. We are very very happy that Harjot is returning. We have been very worried for him. I haven’t been able to talk with him over phone, but he texted saying he is coming tomorrow. No government officials have apprised us on it,” his brother Prabhjot Singh told PTI.
The Ministry of External Affairs on Friday announced that the government has decided to bear medical expenses of Harjot Singh.
On March 1, medical student Naveen SG from Karnataka was killed in shelling in Ukrainian city of Kharkiv when he ventured out to buy food for himself and fellow students.
The Ukrainian airspace has been shut since February 24 due to the Russian military offensive against it. Indian citizens stuck in Ukraine were being airlifted once they cross to neighbouring countries such as Romania, Hungary, Slovakia and Poland.
Eight flights with more than 1,500 Indians will operate from Ukraine’s neighbouring countries to India on Monday, the Ministry of Civil Aviation stated.
India has been bringing back its nationals from Romania, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and Moldova after they crossed over to these countries from Ukraine through land border transit points. The first flight had returned with the stranded Indians on February 26 from Bucharest.
According to the officials, around 2,500 Indians were evacuated on 13 flights in the last 24 hours. They said seven flights are scheduled over the next 24 hours to bring back stranded Indians from Hungary, Romania and Poland. “Under Operation Ganga, so far 76 flights have brought over 15,920 Indians back to India. Out these, 13 flights landed in the last 24 hours,” said an official.
