Grief, Shock, Anger: Netizens, Opposition Slam Centre After Indian Student is Killed in Ukraine’s Kharkiv

An Indian student from Karnataka was killed in shelling in Kharkiv city of war-hit Ukraine on Tuesday morning, the Ministry of External Affairs said.

The news has led to Opposition leaders and netizens urging the Indian government to act speedily to rescue stranded Indians from Ukraine. Some have also slammed the prime minister for being busy in the Bharatiya Janata Party's election campaign in Uttar Pradesh at this time.

"With profound sorrow we confirm that an Indian student lost his life in shelling in Kharkiv this morning," the Ministry tweeted on Tuesday, adding that it was in touch with the student's family. 

The student, Naveen Shekharappa, was a native of Chalageri in Karnataka's Haveri district, a state government official said. "A student Naveen Shekarappa Gyanagoudar, a native of Chalageri in Haveri district, died in the shelling," the Karnataka State Disaster Management Authority commissioner Dr Manoj Rajan told PTI.

The boy's father Gyanagoudar complained that no one from the Indian embassy reached the students stuck in Kharkiv, which is witnessing hostilities. His family members said Naveen was in the fourth year of his course in the Kharkiv medical college.

His uncle Ujjanagouda claimed Naveen along with others from Karnataka was stuck in a bunker in Kharkiv.  He had gone out in the morning to exchange currency and to fetch some food when the shelling happened, in which he was killed instantaneously.

On Tuesday when he rang up his father, Naveen said there was no food and water in the bunker, Ujjanagouda stated.

A number of Indians are still stranded in Kharkiv where Russia has launched a major military offensive. According to official estimates, about 18,000 Indian students are studying in universities across Ukraine. They are currently stranded, facing a severe shortage of food, and are in dire need of transport and shelter. 

The MEA said the Foreign Secretary is calling in ambassadors of Russia and Ukraine to reiterate India's demand for "urgent safe passage" to Indian nationals who are still in Kharkiv and other cities in conflict zones. "Similar action is also being undertaken by our ambassadors in Russia and Ukraine," the MEA said.

Karnataka CM Basavaraj Bommai spoke with the victim's father as the CMO announced that 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," the Karnataka CMO said.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi expressed condolences to the victim's family on Twitter. He also reiterated that the Government of India needed a strategic plan for safe evacuation. "Every minute is precious," he said.  

Gaurav Pandhi, AICC social media in-charge, slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for being busy in campaigning for the Uttar Pradesh elections amid the crisis. "shudder to think of the parents who have their children stuck in Ukraine, now especially after the tragic killing of one of them. How they must be feeling seeing PM Modi doing nothing but election rallies and his Govt indulging in nonsense publicity stunts," he said in Twitter. 

Indian Youth Congress members also staged a protest near External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar's residence in New Delhi, demanding safe evacuation of Indian students stranded in war-torn Ukraine, the PTI reported.

Dipankar, General Secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist), compared the dire situation of stranded Indian students in Ukraine to that of migrant labourers during the national lockdown due to COVID-19. "Indian students in #Ukraine find themselves now in the same situation as migrant workers in lockdown: left in the lurch by the Government of India. MEA has asked students to leave Kiyv when Asian & African students are facing racist attacks and not being allowed to board trains!" he said. 

Netizens have also come down heavily on the government for failing to promptly evacuate Indian students from the conflict area.

"The govt should not be content with such vaguely worded advisory to the Indians stuck in Ukraine, especially after one Indian student was just killed there. This doesn't even mention where to reach or how to reach. This is totally apathetic on their part," a twitter user said quoting a tweet by India in Ukraine, which advised Indian students to leave Kyiv by any means available. 

Actor Farhan Akhtar also reacted to the news saying, "An Indian student is now a casualty of the Ukraine invasion .. feel terrible for the family .. deepest condolences..  hope we can get all our citizens home safe and soon." 

Meanwhile, Kiren Rijiju, Union minister of Law and Justice, announced that the SpiceJet airline has joined the efforts to evacuate Indians, especially students, from Ukraine.  SpiceJet on Tuesday afternoon sent a plane to Kosice in Slovakia to evacuate Indians stranded in Ukraine due to the Russian military offensive. Slovakia shares land border with Ukraine on the western side. Rijiju is travelling on SpiceJet's special flight to Slovakia as a Special Envoy of the Indian Government to oversee the evacuation, SpiceJet said in a statement.

Indian Air Force is likely to deploy several C-17 aircraft from Tuesday onwards to evacuate Indians, the PTI reported citing sources. Further, with several MPs receiving anxious calls from families of Indian nationals stuck in Ukraine, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has asked parliamentarians to directly contact his office to flag "particular concerns" and share information about such people. "Please be assured that we are taking cognizance of all enquiries and information. All of them will be attended to by Team MEA representatives on the ground," the Union minister said in a letter sent out to all MPs on Monday.

While some 1,396 Indians have been evacuated by the government so far, thousands of others are still stuck in Ukraine. Many of those still stranded are in the line of fire in Kyiv, Kharkiv and other provinces in the east, the India Today reported. One evacuee told India Today on February 26 that several Indian medical students in Kyiv had taken shelter in underground metro stations and were yet to be rescued.

The Indian Embassy in Kyiv is advising Indian students on how to reach the country's western borders to reach Poland, Romania, or Hungary from where they can board Air India flights specially operated by the Indian government to reach India.

(With PTI Inputs)