Bengaluru, March 19 : Father of Naveen Shekharappa Gyanagoudar, who was killed in Ukraine shelling, will be donating his body to SS Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Centre located in Davanagere. “After performing the final rites here in Chalageri village, we will hand over Naveen’s body to the SS Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Centre,” Naveen’s father Shekharappa Gyanagoudar told reporters in Chalageri. Replying to a query, Gyanagoudar said, “My son wanted to become a doctor and serve people, but his desire remained unfulfilled. As a gift for the benefit of the education of medical students in Karnataka, we decided to donate his body to the SS Institute to pacify his soul,” he reasoned. Naveen’s body is scheduled to arrive at Bengaluru International Airport from Poland at 0300 hours on March 21. The body will then be taken to Chalageri village in Ranebennur taluk of Haveri district. The body is expected to reach Chalageri around 0900 hours, Gyanagoudar said. “The very first day when we heard about the tragedy, we were not able to console ourselves. Later our Chief Minister, Prime Minister and Yediyurappa instilled confidence and assured my family to bring back Naveen’s body. I had faith in them,” he said. Gyanagoudar thanked PM Narendra Modi, the External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Basavaraj Bommai for putting in a concerted effort to bring back Naveen’s body. On Friday, Bommai had announced the arrival of Naveen’s body onboard Emirates Airlines at 0300 hours on March 21. Naveen was killed in the Ukraine shelling when he had stepped out of the Kharkiv metro railway station to buy groceries on March 1. Due to the heightened war in the eastern parts of Ukraine, bordering Russia, it was risky to shift the body. However, the body was secured and kept in a mortuary after embalming it until it was shifted to Warsaw in Poland.
