US Embassy Approves Visa for Comatose Indian Student's Family

The US Embassy issued a visa on Friday to the relatives of an Indian student who was severely injured in a road accident in Washington and has been in a coma ever since.

The student, 35-year-old Nilam Shinde, a postgraduate student at California State University, suffered multiple fractures in both arms and legs when she was hit from behind by a car on February 14.

After the accident, Shinde has been undergoing brain surgery and has been in a coma since.

Though she is still in critical condition, there have been reported minor improvements in her health according to her family.

From Maharashtra's Satara district, Shinde's family had lost all hope of ever seeing her because of continuous denial of visas. But after obtaining approval finally, they will take the next flight to the US.

Relatives coming to meet her include her uncle, father, and cousin.

Speaking with NDTV, Shinde's cousin, Gaurav, thanked the media, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, and NCP(SP) chief Supriya Sule for supporting them. He said the process of appearing at the visa interviews was a smooth one and said that they will be availing a loan to fund their travel to the US.

Gaurav also asked the government to revise the visa processes, saying, "No other family should have to endure what we went through. These procedures need to be changed for emergency cases."

The family had initially applied for a US visa after hearing about the accident and was offered an appointment date next year.

Frustrated with the delay, they sought help from political leaders and the media.

NCP (SP) leader Supriya Sule represented their cause, and this led to the intervention of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), resulting in a special visa interview for the family at a hurried pace.

The driver involved in the accident was arrested by the authorities. The accused, Lawrence Gallow, aged 58, was apprehended on February 19, five days after the accident.