Kolkata, Mar 1 (PTI) West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Tuesday grieved the death of an Indian student in shelling in Ukraine's Kharkiv city, and expressed condolences to his family.

"Deeply anguished that an Indian student, Naveen Gyanagoudar, has lost his life today in shelling in Kharkiv, Ukraine. My heartfelt condolences to his family and friends. Such tragedies numb us," Banerjee tweeted.

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In the first Indian casualty in the war in Ukraine, the medical student from Karnataka's Haveri district was killed in intense shelling in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv on Tuesday

According to Naveen's friends, he had gone out to buy groceries and was standing in a queue at a shop when he was hit, though the circumstances are not absolutely clear.

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Following the incident, India asked the envoys of both Russia and Ukraine to ensure "urgent safe passage" to Indian nationals who are still in Kharkiv and other conflict zones.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)