An Indian medical student who was comatose after being assaulted in Russia has died, external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj tweeted on Wednesday.
Swaraj had promised help to Yasir Hussain Shirazi (27), a Srinagar resident who was on a visit to Russia, after an SOS to the minister on Twitter said he was “attacked by some goons”.
“I am pained to inform that Yasir, an Indian medical student from Srinagar, has succumbed to his injuries in Russia,” Swaraj tweeted.
{{/usCountry}}“I am pained to inform that Yasir, an Indian medical student from Srinagar, has succumbed to his injuries in Russia,” Swaraj tweeted.
{{/usCountry}}However, a relative of Shirazi said he was a businessman dealing in Kashmiri art and craft and had gone to the Kazan province of Russia a week ago to meet his brother, who is also associated with the business.
“It seems that he was assaulted in a robbery attempt after returning from a business meet in Kazan, Russia,” he said.
“We have no information about the money that was stolen from him. His travel documents are not there. We only request the government that the arrangements are made to get his body back as soon as possible,” he said.
In a series of tweets late Tuesday, Swaraj said an Indian doctor was treating Yasir at a trauma centre.
According to the tweet, Yasir was in a state of coma after the attack and had lost all his money and documents.
Swaraj said that she had also spoken to Indian Ambassador to Russia, Pankaj Saran.
Stating that she was pained to hear about this, she said she would take up this issue with Russian authorities.