'Don't Wait There,' 'Carry Flag': Kin's Last Words to Indian Who Died in Ukraine

The 21-year-old medical student lost his life amid Russian shelling in Kharkiv city in Ukraine on 1 March.

"Do try. Don’t wait there thinking someone will come and help you escape," this is what Naveen Shekharappa Gyanagoudar's uncle told him during their last phone call on Tuesday, 1 March.

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Naveen Shekharappa Gyanagoudar was standing in a queue to buy groceries at a supermarket in Kharkiv when Russian shelling began in the city on the morning of Tuesday, 1 March. The 21-year-old Indian student lost his life in a bomb attack that targeted to the Governor's House in the city.

"We, too, have a plan, should see (about leaving Kharkiv) tomorrow," Naveen, who hails from Karnataka's Haveri district, had told his family during his last video call.

"Do try. Don’t wait there thinking someone will come and help you escape," Naveen's uncle had told him on the phone.

Naveen was a fourth-year student of forensic science at Kharkiv National Medical University. He had spoken to his father not long before stepping out of the bunker he had been sheltering in, to buy food.

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'If You Have an Indian Flag, They Will Not Do Anything to You': Family's Last Call With Naveen

In a video accessed by The Quint, Naveen can be heard talking to his family for the last time.

During the interaction, his family can be heard encouraging Naveen to take initiative by moving towards the train station, and reiterating the importance of carrying an Indian flag.

"If you have it (the Indian tricolour), they will not do anything to you. The minister has spoken to both the countries and asked them not to give any trouble to Indians. So hold the flag and take your luggage, see the situation and take the initiative to move. Watch out and when the situation becomes little peaceful, move from there," Naveen's uncle had said to the boy, referring to Union Minister Piyush Goyal's assurance that both Russia and Ukraine were taking care of the safety of Indian students.

"If you have a big flag, place it on the building... The minister said the same thing. He said that you people should show the flag as much as possible," he can be heard saying.

Further on in the clip, Naveen indicates that he has taken shelter with other Indian students in a bunker, from where "only 2 percent" of those sheltering have been able to leave.

Asked why the students' departure is being delayed, Naveen told his uncle, "There is a rush and the situation is critical." "Many people are waiting in the railway station from morning," he said to his family.

'Naveen Wanted To Take Juniors Along, So We Waited'

Amit Vaishyar, another final-year student who had been living with Naveen, told The Indian Express that some students have left the city on Monday. “But Naveen suggested that the others wait so that we can take our juniors along, too, as they had been in Ukraine for less than a year. It was his idea to leave Kharkiv on Wednesday morning,” he said.

Vaishyar said that Naveen had left to get food for everybody when he was killed.

In Kharkiv, Indian students have been going without food for days, student V Amith said. Rations have not reached most bunkers, he added.

V Venkatesh, father of V Amith, who was with Naveen in the bunker, told The Quint, "Naveen was with my son for the past eight days. He had gone to get food. Of course, if they are hungry they will go in search of food."

Before Russia declared war on Ukraine on 24 February, Indian students of Kharkiv National Medical University had tried to leave the country, three students who were trapped with Naveen told The Quint.

They, however, could not leave the campus as flight charges were unaffordable, and ranged between Rs 1 lakh and Rs 1.5 lakh, they said.

'If Professional Education Was Affordable, Wouldn't Have Sent My Son Abroad': Naveen's Father

Shekharappa Gyanagoudar, Naveen's father, said that he had sent his son abroad as medical education in India is very costly.

“If professional education was affordable for the poor in this country, why would I have sent my son to Ukraine and lost him today?” he was quoted as saying by The New Indian Express.

"Yesterday morning he called around 10 am. He said I will have breakfast and call. After that, there was no communication. His phone was ringing but no one was picking up. At 2 pm, I received a call from the Ministry of External Affairs," Gyanagoudar told NDTV.

The father of the deceased student, who also spoke on the phone with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, has requested the Indian government to bring back Naveen's mortal remains. He has also asked he government to examine the hefty donations that medical colleges demand, forcing Indian students to take admission abroad.

A statement from the Karnataka Chief Minister's Office on Tuesday said that Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai had spoken with Shekharappa's father and offered his condolences.

"Choking with grief, Shekar Gowda said that he had spoken with his son just in the morning over the phone and he used to call up twice or thrice every day," the statement read.