Indian student's body, who was killed in Ukraine, to return when shelling stops, says Karnataka CM

Naveen Shekharappa's body, the Indian student killed in the Russian shelling in Ukraine last week, is still in the mortuary in Kharkiv and will be returned when the shelling stops, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai stated on Tuesday, citing the Foreign Minister.

While talking to reporters, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai told reporters that the External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had informed them that Naveen's body had been embalmed and kept in a mortuary in Ukraine. When the shelling stops, his body will be returned to India.

Last Tuesday, Russian shelling on a government building in Kharkiv killed 21-year-old Naveen Shekharappa. He was a student at Kharkiv National Medical University who had gone out of his bunker to get supplies before leaving the city and was standing in line outside a grocery store when he was killed.

According to media reports, Naveen's father, Shekharappa Gyanagowda, said that the government assured him that Naveen's body would be returned home within two days. His father has requested both the Prime Minister and the Karnataka Chief Minister to help bring back his son's body. 

However, earlier, Bharatiya Janata Party leader Arvind Bellad stormed a controversy by stating that the dead body occupies more space in a flight. 

Karnataka MLA Arvind Bellad told reporters that bringing back hundreds of students stranded in Ukraine was the priority. Instead of a coffin, nearly eight to ten people could be accommodated on a plane.

The government is making every effort to recover Naveen's mortal remains, he added, everyone is aware that Ukraine is a war zone. Efforts are being made, and it will be returned.

It is difficult to bring back who is alive, and it has become even more challenging to bring back the dead because a dead body takes up more space on the flight, the MLA had stated. He added that eight to ten people could be accommodated instead of a dead body, which would take up more space in flight.

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