21:51 (IST), May 17
Last rites of former army officer Kale killed in Gaza conducted in Pune
The last rites of Colonel (retd) Waibhav Anil Kale, a former Indian army officer who was killed in Rafah region of Gaza earlier this week while working with the United Nations (UN), were performed here on Friday with full state honours.
The mortal remains of the 46-year-old former infantry officer were flown here earlier in the day, and kept at his residence in Kalyaninagar for some time before they were taken to the crematorium in Pune Cantonment. Besides family members, his colleagues in the army, course-mates from the National Defence Academy (NDA), friends and government officials were present at the crematorium.
Wrapped in the Indian tri-colour and the UN flag, he was cremated with full state honours. Colonel Kale, who had joined the UN as a security service coordinator two months ago, was killed on Monday while travelling in a vehicle carrying the UN flag when it came under fire.
Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, had said that the UN had established a fact-finding panel to look into the deadly attack.
