THE mortal remains of Colonel (retd) Waibhav Anil Kale arrived in India on Friday, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said, days after the former Indian Army officer who was working with the UN in Gaza was killed in an attack in the Rafah region. Kale, 46, who retired prematurely from the Indian Army in 2022, joined the UN as a security coordination officer in the UN Department of Safety and Security (DSS) two months ago. “Today the Indian Mission in Tel Aviv in collaboration with the UN authorities, they were able to coordinate the transportation of mortal remains.

 

The mortal remains of Col (retd) Kale has arrived in India today, for formalities to be done by the family,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said. Later in the day, last rites of Colonel Kale were performed in Pune with full state honours. 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.