Col Waibhav Anil Kale: Ex-Indian Army officer, ‘first international casualty’ for UN in Israel-Hamas conflict

Col Waibhav Anil Kale, 46, who took premature retirement from the Indian Army in 2022, joined the UN as a Security Coordination Officer in the United Nations Department of Safety and Security recently.

In his more than two decades long career in the military, Waibhav Anil Kale served in the north-east and also in the Siachen glacier. (Source: LinkedIn)

A former Indian Army officer Colonel (Retd) Waibhav Anil Kale was killed after his vehicle came under fire in conflict-ridden Rafah. He was travelling along with another United Nations Department of Safety and Security (DSS) staffer to the European Hospital in Rafah when their UN vehicle was struck on Monday morning. Kale is the “first international casualty” for the world body since the Israel-Hamas conflict started last year.

Kale, 46, had joined as security service coordinator with the United Nations three weeks ago.

Here is all you need to know about Col Waibhav Anil Kale

🔴 Col Kale hailed from Nagpur and had studied at the Somalwar high school there, his brother-in-law Wing Commander Prasant Karde (Retd) told PTI.

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🔴 According to his LinkedIn profile, Col Waibhav Anil Kale earned his BA from the Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi and had degrees in Behavioral Science and International Humanitarian Law. He had also studied at the Indian Institute of Management at Lucknow and Indore.

🔴 Col Kale had joined the Army in 1998.

🔴 The army officer had commanded the 11 JAK Rifles in Kashmir and had been an instructor at the army’s Infantry School in Mhow.

🔴 In his more than two decades long career in the military, he served in the north-east and also in the Siachen glacier. He was part of counter intelligence and counter terrorism operations.

🔴 While in the Indian Army, Col Kale had participated in a UN peacekeeping mission in Congo in 2009-10 on deputation.

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🔴 Col Waibhav Anil Kale took premature retirement from the Indian Army in 2022 and had settled in Pune.

🔴 The former infantry officer joined the UN as a Security Coordination Officer in the UN DSS three weeks ago.

🔴 Col Kale’s body is being flown from Cairo and will land either in Mumbai or Pune depending on the availability of flights. The last rites of the 46-year-old will be held in Pune in two days after his body reaches the city.

🔴 He is survived by his wife Amruta and two teenage children, son Vedant and daughter Radhika.

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🔴 Col Waibhav Anil Kale brother Group Captain Vishal Kale is a senior officer in the Indian Air Force, and his cousin Colonel Amey Kale is also in the army.

With inputs from PTI

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