The Consulate General of India in Chicago, US, on Saturday (Indian time) said that they have offered medical and travel assistance to a Hyderabad woman, who was found starving on the streets last week, and said that she is "fit." Taking to Twitter, The Consulate General of India in Chicago said, "Happy that we could contact Ms Syeda Zaidi & offered help, including medical assistance & travel to India. She is fit & spoken to her mother in India. She is yet to respond to our offer of support to return to India. We stand ready to extend to her all assistance."
A week earlier, Syeda Lulu Minhaj Zaidi from Hyderabad, who went to the US to pursue a master's degree, was found starving on the streets of Chicago. Later, it was revealed that all her belongings had been stolen. She was depressed. The victim's condition was brought to light by Amjed Ullah Khan, a spokesperson of the Majlis Bachao Tehreek (MBT), a party based in Telangana.
Zaidi's mother had contacted MEA for help
After she was spotted on the Chicago street, her mother Syeda Wahaj Fatima wrote a letter to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and urged him to "immediately interfere" and bring back her daughter "as soon as possible."
"This is to state that my daughter Syeda Lulu Minhaj Zaidi resident of 41-48, Sadullal Nazar behind Eid Gah, Moula Ali, Medchal District, Telangana State went to pursue her Master's in Information Science from TRINE University, Detroit, USA during Aug 2021 and was studying and was in touch with us. For the last two months, she was not in touch with me and recently through two Hyderabadi youths we came to know that my daughter is in deep depression and her entire belonging had been stolen due to which she is on the verge of starvation and being spotted on roads of Chicago, USA," the letter read.
"It is requested to kindly ask the Embassy of India. Washington DC, USA and the Indian Consulate in Chicago, USA to immediately interfere and bring back my daughter as soon as possible back to India. Necessary action taken in this regard may be informed," she added. MBT spokesman stated that they had appealed to External Affairs Minister Jaishankar to bring her back.
MEA responds to the victim's mother's plea
"After my tweet, I received a reply from the Ministry of External Affairs and the Indian Consulate of Chicago that she is not in a condition to travel immediately."
"We are trying to send her parents to Chicago to take care of the girl. The parents do not have passports. We have appealed to IT Minister KTR (Telangana) to help in getting them passports and also a visa from the US Consulate in Hyderabad. Many individuals and organisations have come forward with trips to the US," he said. "We also got a quick response from the government. We thank Jaishankar, EAM and Indian Consulate in Chicago and also all the organisations that have come forward to help them," Khan added.
(With inputs from ANI)
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