Hyderabad woman found starving on Chicago streets hospitalised, mother waiting for US visa

Hyderabad: A day after the video of a Hyderabad woman Syeda Lulu Minhaj Zaidi, who went to the USA to pursue a Master’s degree, was spotted starving on Chicago’s roads, went viral, she was admitted to the hospital for treatment by a social worker. Her 63-year-old elderly mother is waiting to get a visa to travel to Chicago.

On Wednesday, the Consulate of India in Chicago, USA, responded to the plea of the woman and said they are working on the case.

Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader Khaleequr Rahaman shared on Twitter that he was able to get in touch with Mukarram, a social worker in Chicago, regarding Zaidi’s condition. The social worker’s family met the woman and admitted her to a hospital.

Suffering from major depression

Syeda Lulu Minhaj Zaidi from Hyderabad was said to be suffering from major depression. Her mental health took a toll after her financial situation worsened from not getting a job. When she was in Hyderabad, she worked as a teacher at Shadan College.

Speaking to News Meter, her mother Syeda Wahaj Fatima said, “It has been almost two months since we have lost contact with my daughter. We saw the video going viral and came to know that she lost her bag containing certificates, wallet, cash and phone. She is a brilliant student and the situation must have taken an extreme toll on her. It is heartbreaking to see her so weak and asking for food.”

“We got the news that she was admitted to the hospital, but I am yet to speak to her,” said Fatima.

Mother wrote to Centre

On July 22, Fatima wrote to external affairs minister S Jaishankar asking him to intervene and bring her daughter back to India.

In the letter, she described her daughter’s ordeal: “My daughter Syeda Lulu Minhaj Zaidi, a resident of Maula Ali in Telangana, went to pursue her Masters at TRINE University in Detroit during August 2021 and was often in touch with us. But, for the past two months, she has not been in touch with me and recently we came to know through two Hyderabad youths that my daughter is in depression and someone stole her belongings, which left her to starve. My daughter was spotted on the roads of Chicago in the USA.”

Requesting the Embassy of India in Washington DC and the Indian Consulate in Chicago to interfere and bring her daughter back, she shared that her daughter could be traced with the help of Mohammed Minhaj Akhter, a social worker.

The letter surfaced on social media after BRS leader Khaleequr Rahaman shared it on his Twitter handle. He also shared a video in which an emaciated Minhaj could be heard thanking a man after he bought her food.

“The first and foremost thing is to get her out of depression. Only then she will be able to travel to India. I was told that her mother wants to travel to the US to take care of her. I have asked her to send me the details so that we can request external affairs minister S Jaishankar and the embassy to provide a US visa to her mother,” said the BRS leader.

“With her health condition, it would take time to get permission for her travel. I am waiting for my visa approval so that I can immediately travel and see my daughter,” Fatima told News Meter.