New Delhi, May 17 (UNI) The mortal remains of ex-Indian Army officer Col Waibhav Anil Kale, who was killed earlier this week in a shelling attack in war-torn Rafah, arrived in India today, the Ministry of External Affairs said.
MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said at the weekly media briefing that the Indian mission in Tel Aviv in collaboration with the UN authorities coordinated to repatriate the mortal remains of Col Kale.
“The mortal remains of Col Kale arrived in India today, for formalities to be done by the family," he said.
With regard to the investigations into the circumstances of the shelling that led to Col Kale’s death, he said that the UN Secretary General’s office has already set up a fact-finding mission to find out the details.
“As far as we are concerned, we also remain in touch with relevant authorities as far as the investigation is concerned," he added.
After taking premature retirement from the Indian Army in 2022, Col Kale had joined the UN as a Security Coordination Officer in the United Nations Department of Safety and Security (DSS) two months ago.
He had earlier served with the 11 Jammu & Kashmir Rifles.
Col Kale is the first UN staffer to be killed in the ongoing Gaza war.
Asked how many Indians are there in Gaza working with the UN, the spokesperson said: "We understand from reports that some 70-odd UN personnel are working in Gaza, out of those how many are Indian, I am not very sure.”
On May 15, the UN announced it has set up a fact-finding panel to investigate the incident in Rafah that led to the death of Col Waibhav Kale who was killed when “a weapon” impacted the rear of a white UN vehicle that he was travelling in.
The UN has also sent its condolences to Col Kale’s family, said Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesman for the Secretary-General said in his press conference that day.

He also said that details of the incident are still being verified with the Israeli Defence Force, amid speculation that Col Kale’s vehicle was hit by the IDF.
The other UN staff member working for DSS who was injured in the incident is a Jordanian woman, who is in ICU.
Farhan Haq said they are in talks with Israel to “determine exactly how this incident happened and the nature of what happened”.
Asked where the shots were fired from, he said: ”We believe it came from a tank in the area.”
Asked what were Col Kale and his DSS companion going to the European Hospital in Rafah for at the time, Farhan said it was part of their regular work of bringing people to different sites.
Asked about the composition of the panel, he declined to give a direct answer except to say that it is being set up by the UN’s Department of Safety and Security.
“Obviously, we appreciate the contribution that India has made, and we also express our apologies and our condolences to the Government and people of India,” he added.
Asked if the UN views it as a “deliberate attack on the UN”, he said:
“The point I’m making is that this case is still under review. We’ll see what the review results in.”
To a question on whether the attackers could have been mistaken as the UN vehicles are clearly marked, he said: “It’s hard to say. Again, as the review proceeds, we’ll need to see what the precise nature of the circumstances were.”
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