NEW DELHI: Indian student Harjot Singh, who sustained bullet injuries in Ukrainian capital city of Kyiv, was brought back to India through Poland in a special flight of Indian Air Force (IAF) on Monday.
The C-17 Globemaster of the IAF landed with 31-year-old Harjot, Minister of State for Civil Aviation, General (retd) VK Singh, and around 200 other Indian nationals at the Hindon Air Base in Ghaziabad near Delhi on Monday evening. Harjot and other evacuees were welcomed by Polish Ambassador Adam Burakowski the air base.
The minister was sent to Poland to oversee the evacuation efforts under the Operation Ganga.
Harjot sustained multiple bullet injuries after his car was fired upon while he was travelling from Kyiv to Lviv on February 27, three days after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
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On March 4, he released a video on social media from his hospital bed, requesting the government of India for evacuation.
Earlier on Monday, the Embassy of India in Ukraine informed that Harjot was transported in an ambulance from Kyiv to Bodomierz border of Ukraine and Poland, a distance of over 7000-km.
“Kudos to Indian Embassy driver who successfully transferred Harjot over 700 km from Kyiv to Bodomierz border under dangers of shelling and constraints of fuel shortage, road blocks, detours and traffic jams,” the embassy said.
From the border, Harjot was taken to the Rzeszow Airport by an ambulance arranged by the Polish RedCross, Puneet Singh Chanhok, President of the Indian World Forum told The New Indian.
“He had sustained injuries in his chest and leg. The C-17 flight was delayed by 4 hours so that Harjot could board,” Puneet said, adding that Harjot will be taken to New Delhi’s Army Reserach and Referral Hospital.
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Speaking to The New Indian, Ambassador Adam Burakowski said his country had hosted about one million people of 125 nationalities, including Indians who left the former Soviet state following the invasion.
On being asked the number of transit camps set up in Poland, the Ambassador said, “We, the Polish people, respect every human and we host whoever comes to Poland, warmly. We don’t call it transit camp.”
He criticised Russia and its President, Vladimir Putin for invading Ukraine. “Poland, the European Union and many other countries of the world condemn the Russian aggression. We stand with Ukraine,” he said.