Prime Minister Narendra Modi today met President Volodymyr Zelensky on the first-ever visit to Ukraine by an Indian prime minister. PM Modi and Mr Zelensky hugged and shook hands as they met at the Martyrologist Exposition in Kyiv.

The two leaders are scheduled to hold both one-on-one and delegation-level talks with a focus on ways to find a negotiated settlement to the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

#WATCH | PM Modi and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy honour the memory of children at the Martyrologist Exposition in Kyiv pic.twitter.com/oV8bbZ8bQh

— ANI (@ANI) August 23, 2024

PM Modi arrived in Kyiv from Poland onboard a ‘Rail Force One’ train that took around 10 hours, in the second and final leg of his two-nation trip.

Watch: PM Modi Greeted With Namastes As He Arrives In Ukraine

His Ukraine visit comes nearly six weeks after his high-profile trip to Russia during which he held extensive talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin largely with a focus on ending the conflict.

PM Modi last met Mr Zelensky in June on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Italy’s Apulia. In the meeting, he conveyed to the Ukrainian President that India would continue to do everything within its means to support a peaceful solution to the Ukraine conflict and that the way to peace is through “dialogue and diplomacy”.

He also told Mr Zelensky that India believes in a “human-centric” approach to finding a solution to the conflict in Ukraine. In that meeting, the Ukrainian president invited the prime minister to Kyiv.

Earlier Thursday, he held talks with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and said that the ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and West Asia are a matter of “deep concern” and that “dialogue and diplomacy” is the way forward to restore peace.

“This is India’s firm belief that no problem can be solved on the battlefield. In any crisis, the loss of lives of innocent people has become the biggest challenge for the whole of humanity,” he had said.

On August 10, about 24 hours after a 31-year-old doctor’s half-naked body was recovered from the seminar hall of Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, a 33-year-old man was arrested under charges of rape and murder. Sanjoy Roy was identified as a civic volunteer who frequented the state-run hospital and police said he had admitted to the sexual assault and murder of the postgraduate trainee doctor.

What followed was a social media hailstorm in which facts, hearsay and half-truths formed a heady cocktail and people pieced together the image of a rapist-murderer. Some reports said Roy married four times, others mentioned he was addicted to porn and often visited prostitutes.

What most reports agreed on was that despite being a civic volunteer, Roy wielded clout no less than a cop. He roamed around on a bike that had a sticker of KP — Kolkata Police. He also wore a ‘KP’ t-shirt and frequently stayed at the police barracks. Multiple reports said Roy was a regular at the hospital and took bribes from patients’ relatives for arranging beds, getting pathological tests done and several other services.

Roy still remains the only person arrested so far in connection with the heinous crime. The doctor’s parents and colleagues suspect that he could just be a scapegoat to aid an alleged cover-up. Amid a sea of questions, NDTV spoke to Roy’s mother, sister and mother-in-law and neighbours to separate facts from fiction.

Mother Says Sanjoy Roy Was Framed

Sanjoy Roy’s mother stays at a modest house in Kolkata’s Bhabanipur. Malati Roy told NDTV that her son stayed with her, but had of late started living frequently at the police barracks. Asked about the serious allegations against her son, she said he had done nothing. “Many people are involved. Those who framed him will get punished too,” she said. 

Roy, she said, ran the household. “He treated me well. He ran the household after his father died.”

Should Be Punished If He Did It: Sister

Sanjoy Roy has four sisters. The eldest stays not very far from her mother and brother, but has not visited them in over 17 years. “I have not entered that house since I married 17 years back. My father was opposed to my marriage and I have had no relation with the family since then. So I don’t really know how my brother grew up to be,” she said.

Sanjoy Roy, she said, married twice. “I know about two marriages. I have seen two wives.”

She said that as a sister, she doesn’t think Roy could commit such a crime. “But I am watching news too. Even I don’t know. I am in shock. I can’t understand. But if he has done this, he should be punished as per law.”

Roy’s Pregnant Wife Died Last Year

Roy married Shanti in February 2022. In August 2023, when Shanti was three months pregnant, she died of cancer. Shanti’s mother Durga Devi said Roy would get drunk and beat up her daughter. “He had been married once earlier, but his wife left him,” she said, adding that Roy was divorced. “My daughter used to tell me that he is not a bad person.” She said Roy would visit them at times, but has not come since her daughter died. Asked if he should be punished if found guilty, Durga Devi replied, “We have nothing to do with him.”

Not A Good Guy: Neighbours

NDTV spoke to several women living near Roy’s home in Bhabanipur. All of them refused to speak on camera, but said Roy was a “nasty guy”. “He ogled at women, we would shut our doors whenever we say him,” a woman said. According to sources, CBI’s probe has found that Roy visited a red light area before allegedly committing the crime. Reports say he was addicted to porn. Only investigation will now reveal what is fact and what is fiction.