The United States embassy on Friday granted an emergency visa to the family of an Indian student, Neelam Shinde, who is in a coma after a serious road accident in California.
“I received a phone call from her roommate on February 16. However, she didn't tell me about the accident. Later, she informed Neelam's uncle about it. She is still in a coma. However, her condition has improved slightly. We came here (to the embassy). They took our interview and granted visas in half an hour. We will leave (for the US) tomorrow (Saturday),” Tanhaji Shinde told news agency PTI.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) had taken up the request with the US for an urgent visa for the family of the Indian student, who is battling for her life.
Neelam Shinde, from Maharashtra's Satara, was critically injured in the accident on February 14 and has been in a coma at a hospital since then.
Her family had sought an urgent visa to travel to the US to be by her side.
Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Sharadchandra Pawar's daughter, Supriya Sule, flagged the case on Wednesday.
“Student Neelam Shinde has met with an accident in the USA and is hospitalized in a local hospital,” the NCP MP said in a post on X.
"Her father, Tanaji Shinde, from Satara, Maharashtra, India, urgently needs to visit his daughter due to a medical emergency. Tanaji Shinde has applied for an urgent visa to the USA and requires assistance," Sule said.
On Thursday, the Indian consulate in San Francisco posted an update on X regarding the Neelam Shinde case, extending its support to her family.
In the statement, the consulate expressed its "sympathy and solidarity" with Shinde's family and assured that it has been in constant touch with the hospital, her family, and friends.
"We have been rendering all possible assistance and will continue to remain engaged to support her and the family," the post read.
(With inputs from PTI vidoes)