NEW DELHI: None from the Indian embassy in Ukraine has contacted so far regarding their injured son in Kyiv, said the parents of Harjot Singh who was shot four times while on his way to Lviv. A student of Kyiv’s International European University, Harjot was forced to flee Kyiv due to the Russian invasion. His parents say Harjot was shot four times — two on legs, one on shoulder and one on chest — on February 27.
“Harjot boarded a cab along with an African student and two Ukrainians for Lviv. The cab was stopped at a check post and Harjot was shot at the very moment he opened the door,” says his mother Prakash Kaur.
It is, however, not known whether Ukrainians or Russians shot him.
The 30-year-old student is recuperating at a hospital with a fractured leg and gunshot wounds. “For four days, he remained unconscious. We were a nervous wreck. We neither ate nor slept properly,” says the teary eyed mother. “All his belongings, documents, phone are missing. Even the car and its occupants are untraceable.”
Kesar Singh says the doctors at Kyiv City Hospital gave his son a phone to contact the family. “Harjot says doctors and hospital staff are providing utmost care but he wants to leave Kyiv at the earliest as explosions are happening every hour.”
Efforts to contact Indian embassy officials in Ukraine were futile.“The Ukraine embassy asked us to contact Indian embassy but no one has contacted so far. When I contacted our area councillor, he asked me to provide all the documents which he will give to the MP so that it can be forwarded to the minister concerned,” says Singh.
The family lives in Delhi’s Chattarpur area for the last 40 years. Singh owns a shop while his wife stitches clothes. The Indian embassy is close to the hospital but no one has met Harjot so far, Singh says. “Only the media has reached out. None from the government has come and asked us about Harjot’s situation.”
Centre will bear medical expenses of injured student: MEA
New Delhi: The Centre will bear expenses for medical treatment of Harjot Singh who sustained multiple bullet injuries in Kyiv. “Govt of India will be bearing expenses for Harjot Singh’s medical treatment (in Kyiv, Ukraine.) We are trying to ascertain his medical status... Our embassy is trying to get an update on his health status...trying to reach out but facing trouble as it’s a conflict zone,” MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said at a press conference. Bagchi asserted that the government is not aware any Indian being held hostage. “They are facing difficulty due to security reasons particularly in Kharkiv, Ukraine, but no hostage situation,” said Bagchi. Bagchi also reiterated that the government will continue Operation Ganga till the last person is evacuated. “Over 20,000 Indians have left the Ukraine border since we issued our advisories.’’