India student killed in Ukraine was out to buy food

 

An Indian student who was killed in shelling in Ukraine's Kharkiv on Tuesday had spoken to his friend shortly before his death.

Naveen S Gyanagoudar, 22, had left the bunker he was hiding in to buy food when he was killed.

Thousands of Indian citizens are still in Ukraine and they have been sending desperate pleas for evacuation.

India has launched an operation to get its citizens home but it's been facing logistical hurdles.

India's external affairs ministry said Gyanagoudar died in shelling in Kharkiv and it was in contact with his family.

Many students have been tweeting that finding food and supplies has become difficult since Russia invaded Ukraine.

"He called me at 8am Ukrainian time to transfer money to him because he wanted to buy more food for us," Gyanagoudar's friend, Srikanth Chennagowda, told BBC Hindi from a shelter under an apartment in Kharkiv.

Gyanagoudar and Mr Chennagowda were fourth-year medical students at the Kharkiv National Medical University.

Gyanagoudar left the shelter early in the morning, right after a curfew ended, to go to a nearby supermarket.

"I transferred the money. After 5-10 minutes, I tried to contact him and he did not take my call. I tried many times. Later, someone answered but spoke in Ukrainian, which I did not understand," said Mr Chennagowda.

Then Mr Chennagowda asked somebody in the shelter to speak to the person on the phone. He soon learnt that his friend had died.

"I could not believe it. I went to the supermarket and there was no blast," he said.

It's not clear where exactly Gyanagoudar came under attack.

Mr Chennagowda added that Gyanagoudar and the others in the shelter were planning to move out soon as shelling was intensifying in the city.

"Nobody from the [Indian] embassy has contacted us. We don't know where his body is," he said.

Gyanagoudar went to Ukraine from Haveri district in the southern state of Karnataka.

The state's chief minister, Basavaraj S Bommai, tweeted that he was "shocked" by the news.

"We are constantly in touch with MEA [Ministry of External Affairs] and will make all efforts to bring back his mortal remains," he added.

Mr Chennagowda described Gyanagoudar as a "kind-hearted" and "brilliant" person.

"He scored 95% in his third year. He was a very studious guy and was also very humble."