Embassy did not reach out to students stuck in Kharkiv, alleges father of boy killed in shelling
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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NEET student hangs self in Rajasthan's Sikar
Jaipur (PTI): A student preparing for the NEET examination allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself in a rented room in Rajasthan's Sikar on Friday, police said.
According to the police, the student allegedly hanged himself from a ceiling fan using his sister's scarf while one sister was attending coaching classes and the other was in the bathroom.
He had appeared in the NEET UG exam 2026, which was cancelled due to paper leak, they said.
Udyog Nagar SHO Rajesh Kumar said that the deceased, identified as Pradeep Meghwal, was a resident of Kanika ki Dhani village in Jhunjhunu's Gudha Gaudji area.
He had been living in a rented room in Sikar's Jaldhari Nagar area with his two sisters while preparing for NEET over the last three years.
His elder sister later found him hanging and informed the landlord and police after bringing him down, officials said.
The SHO said the body was kept at SK Hospital mortuary, and a postmortem had not been conducted.
The student's father, Rajesh Kumar Meghwal, told police that Pradeep's NEET examination had gone well and the family was expecting him to score around 650 marks.
Former Rajasthan deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot expressed grief over the incident and linked it to anxiety among students after reports of irregularities and paper leaks in NEET 2026.
Pilot said repeated paper leak incidents and cancellation of examinations were affecting students' mental health and demanded a time-bound investigation and strict action against those responsible.
