HYDERABAD: Over a month ago, their only son met with a major accident in the US and has since been lying in a hospital in a critical condition. With their emergency visa rejected after an interview, the family from Tolichowki is requesting govt’s help so they can be with him and bring him back to the city.Speaking to TOI, the family said Shaik Ansar, who went to Indiana in the US to pursue a bachelor’s degree in information technology, met with an accident in Atlanta, Georgia, on Aug 25 and was put on a ventilator. He remains in critical condition at Northside Hospital Gwinnett in Lawrenceville.“We have no intention of staying back in the US. All we want is to go see our son and get him back as soon as doctors clear him to travel,” said his mother, Sograh Begum.She said doctors had repeatedly asked the kin to consider whether they wanted to continue keeping Ansar on a ventilator, but they were unwilling to give up hope.“For almost a month, he was on a ventilator. Now, for the last couple of days, they are seeing if he can survive on his own by keeping him off the ventilator for a few hours. He has not spoken or even moved his finger since the accident. We are very worried,” Sograh said.The family said they had paid visa fees in April to travel to the US for Ansar’s convocation but could not secure an appointment as no slots were available. After the accident, they applied for an emergency visa, but the request was rejected.“We assume officials thought we were lying or concealing facts because we had already paid the visa fee to attend his convocation. But that’s not true. We just want to be with our son in this difficult time,” Sograh said.The family, comprising Sograh, her husband and their daughter, said they met several politicians and submitted a request to the govt seeking assistance. They have now paid the visa fees again and are awaiting an appointment slot.Meanwhile, Amjed Ullah Khan, spokesperson for Majlis Bachao Tehreek, urged external affairs minister S Jaishankar to intervene. In a post on X, Khan requested Jaishankar to speak to the US ambassador in India and/or the US Consulate General in Hyderabad and seek emergency visas for Ansar’s parents and sister on humanitarian grounds.
