Naveen's Parents Thank CM Bommai For Bringing Back Mortal Remains Of Son, CM Pays Homage — WATCH

As many as 572 Karnataka students have been brought back from Ukraine, according to Manoj Rajan, nodal officer appointed by the state government for the evacuation of Karnataka students from Ukraine.

New Delhi: The family of Naveen Shekarappa Gyanagoudar thanked Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai Monday for bringing back the mortal remains of the medical student from Ukraine. Naveen died on March 1 after Russian forces shelled Kharkiv city.

At the Kempegowda International Airport (KIAL) in Bengaluru, Naveen's younger brother Harsha could be seen thanking CM Bommai with folded hands for bringing back the mortal remains to Karnataka. His relatives and villagers were also present at the airport and expressed their gratitude to the CM.

Manoj Rajan, the nodal officer appointed by the state government for the evacuation of Karnataka students from Ukraine, said as many as 572 Karnataka students have been brought back from Ukraine.

He explained that the body was kept at Kyiv medical college on humanitarian grounds after the Indian authorities made a request to the effect. The documentation was done through a funeral agent, according to reports.

From Kyiv, the body was taken to Warsaw in Poland, and then flown to Bengaluru via Dubai.

Naveen's body was handed over to his family Saturday. The government had made arrangement for an ambulance to transport it to his village in the Haveri district.

Congress MLC Saleem Ahmad, who was present at the airport, he came to pay homage to Naveen on behalf of the party.

He demanded changes in the education system. "Thousands of students are forced to go out of the country for studies. Naveen could not get the MBBS seat here even after scoring 96 per cent," he said.

"There are many fault lines in the NEET and students are meted out with injustice. The students from the state should not suffer injustice. They should get the opportunity to study. The government should prioritise and resolve this issue," he asserted.

CM Bommai, Health Minister K Sudhakar and MP Shivakumar Udasi offered floral tributes to Naveen before the mortal remains were handed over to the family, which has announced that they would donate the body to a private medical college for research after conducting rituals.

Thanking PM Modi and Union External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Bommai tweeted: "Received & honoured body of our student Naveen Gyanagoudar killed in indiscriminate bomb shelling in Russia-Ukraine war. Thanks to PM Narendra Modi Ji & Dr S Jaishankar Ji for getting his mortal remains."

(With IANS inputs)