BENGALURU/CHIKKABALLAPURA : Following the rising tensions between Iran and Israel, the Non-Resident Indian (NRI) Forum in Bengaluru wrote to the Ministry of External Affairs on Monday, requesting urgent action to bring back nine Karnataka students from Iran.
According to officials, eight students from Alipur in Gauribidanur taluk and one from Bengaluru are stranded in Iran. They had gone there for higher education. The students from Gauribidanur are Habeeb Raza, Shabbir Ali, Ilhan Ali, Irfan Hyder, Raza Abbas, Habeeb Hussain, Nakeer Raza, and Mohammed Hafiz. Another student, Nadeem Hussain, is from Bengaluru. His parents, who live in Bengaluru, contacted the NRI Forum seeking help.
Officials from the Higher Education Department said that, according to the Indian Ambassador in Iran, all students are safe. Necessary arrangements are being made to bring them back to India. According to the NRI Forum, the nine students are currently pursuing medical education at Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences in Tehran. Vice-chairperson of the forum Arathi Krishna has is in constant contact with the officials concerned over phone.
Hassan Syed, a resident of Gowribidanur, posted on X requesting Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and the Prime Minister’s Office to facilitate the evacuation of the students. Speaking to TNIE, he claimed that 15 students, including his sister from Gauribidanur, studying at four different medical universities in Iran, are stranded. He said that he spoke to his sister over the phone. As of Sunday midnight, the Indian Embassy in Iran had safely evacuated all students to a safe location. He added that the remaining students have not registered with the NRI Forum.