Hyderabad: The Indian Consulate in Chicago has assured assistance to a student from Hyderabad who was injured following an attack by four armed robbers in the US.
On Sunday, Syed Mazahir Ali, pursuing a Masters in information technology from Indiana Wesleyan University, was attacked and robbed by three men at Campbell Avenue.
Ali’s wife, Syeda Ruquiya Fatima Razvi, who resides in Langar Houz area in Hyderabad, appealed to External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on Tuesday to ensure the best medical treatment for him.
In a letter to the minister, she requested arrangements to be made for her travel to the US along with their three minor children. She received a call from her husband’s friend informing her about the attack and robbery at Campbell Avenue when he was near his apartment. He was subsequently taken to a hospital.
Indian Consulate in Chicago in touch with Hyderabad student in US
Following the letter to the minister, the Indian Consulate in Chicago responded and wrote on their official X handle, “Consulate is in touch with Syed Mazahir Ali and his wife in India Syeda Ruquiya Fatima Razvi and assured all possible assistance. Consulate has also contacted the local authorities who are investigating the case.”
Earlier, video footage of the incident went viral. In the video, Ali is seen walking on a road with three masked men chasing him. Another clip shows the profusely bleeding victim narrating the incident.
With blood oozing out from his forehead, nose, and mouth, he explained that he was returning home with a food packet when four men chased and attacked him. “I slipped near my house, and they punched and kicked me, snatching my mobile phone,” he pleaded for help.
After the videos of the incident went viral on social media, the Indian Consulate in Chicago stepped in to help the victim of the incident.
Four Indian students dead in US
The attack on the Hyderabad student occurred while people were still in shock over the recent deaths of four Indian students in the US.
These tragic incidents coincide with Indian students constituting more than 25 per cent of the over one million foreign students studying in the United States, according to a November 2023 Open Doors report.
The number of Indians traveling to the US for higher education increased by 35 per cent, reaching an all-time high of 2,68,923 students in the academic year 2022-23, the report stated.
Last year, the US consular team in India issued over 140,000 student visas — more than in any other country in the world, setting a record for the third year in a row.
