Haveri, Mar 1: No one from the Indian Embassy reached out to stranded Indian students in Kharkiv in Ukraine, where a Karnataka native pursuing medicine was killed in shelling amid a Russian military offensive, the victim's father alleged on Tuesday.

Naveen Shekarappa Gyanagoudar from the district was killed when he stepped out of his bunker to exchange currency and fetch some food, his uncle Ujjanagouda claimed.

The victim's residence in Chalageri in this district slipped into gloom upon receiving the news of their child killed in the faraway European nation, with a large number of people thronging the house to console the bereaved family.

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.

Ujjanagouda said 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 he was caught 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.

Learning about the tragedy, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai called up Gyanagoudar over phone and expressed his sorrow.

Bommai assured Gyanagoudar he would make every effort to bring back his son's body to India. He also told him that he is touch with the officials in the external affairs ministry.

The bereaved father told Bommai that Naveen had called him in the morning as well. Daily the son used to ring him up at least two to three times, he told the Chief Minister.

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Mumbai (PTI): The initial report submitted by the microbiology department of a Mumbai-based state-run hospital has said no "bacterial infection" was detected in the bodies of four family members, who died after consuming watermelon recently, officials said on Wednesday.

The Dokadia family, residents of Ghari Mohalla on Ismail Kurte Road, had hosted a get-together of relatives on the night of April 25. At around 1 am (on April 26), hours after the guests had left, Abdullah Dokadia (40), his wife Nasreen (35), and daughters Ayesha (16) and Zaineb (13) ate pieces of a watermelon.

They suffered severe bouts of vomiting and diarrhoea in the early hours of April 26 and were rushed to a local hospital before being referred to the government-run J J Hospital where all four died during treatment.

After the incident, Mumbai police, forensic experts and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officials visited the house and had collected samples of every food item that constituted the family's last meal, including 'chicken pulav', watermelon, water, and other foodstuffs, and sent them to the Forensic Science Laboratory for analysis.

After the post-mortem of the deceased, their viscera was preserved for chemical analysis.

As the probe is underway, the microbiology department of the state-run J J Hospital has submitted its initial report to the police.

"As per the report, no bacterial infection has been detected so far in the bodies of the victims. No bacteria was found in their blood," the official said.

The exact cause of the death will be known once the forensic science lab submits its report, he said.

"The report will also clarify whether any food items consumed by the family members during the day contained anything poisonous," the official said.