Noida, Mar 1 (PTI) Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) president Jayant Chaudhary on Tuesday condoled the demise of an Indian student who died during Russian shelling in Ukraine.

Chaudhary also urged the Centre to quickly evacuate other Indians stranded in the war zone.

Also Read | PM Narendra Modi Speaks to Father of Naveen Shekarappa, Who Died in Shelling in Ukraine.

Earlier on Tuesday morning, Naveen Shekarappa Gyanagoudar, a student from Chalageri in Karnataka's Haveri district, died in Kharkiv city of Ukraine, marking the first Indian casualty in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, according to officials.

"My heartfelt condolences to Naveen Shekharappa's family. GoI needs to put all efforts to ensure safe evacuation of all Indians stranded in the war zone," Chaudhary tweeted.

Also Read | Karnataka CM Basavaraj Bommai Reaches Out to Family of Indian Student ‘Naveen Shekharappa’ Killed in Ukraine.

Earlier in the morning, he had shared a clip of a panic-struck RLD worker from Uttar Pradesh's Baghpat district in a video call with his daughter, who along with several other Indian students, was stuck 4 km off Chop border in Ukraine.

"The harsh truth is students stuck in Ukraine and particularly on the Polish border are paying for India's ambivalent stand and GoI's lack of foresight and preparedness," the RLD chief had tweeted on Monday.

A destination for many MBBS students from India, the Kharkiv city is witnessing increasing fighting between the Ukrainian troops and Russian forces.

The Centre has launched Operation Ganga for evacuation of Indian nationals from the war-hit region.

(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)