J&K Students Association writes to EAM Jaishankar, seeks repatriation of Kashmiri MBBS student’s mortal remains from Iran

• Seeks probe into alleged medical negligence

SRINAGAR: The Jammu and Kashmir Students Association on Friday has written to Union External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar, seeking his urgent humanitarian intervention for the swift repatriation of the mortal remains of Ms. Sabha Rasool, a 27-year-old MBBS student from Safakadal, Srinagar, who died in Iran earlier this week. The Association has also urged the Ministry to take up the matter with Iranian authorities to initiate a thorough probe into allegations of gross medical negligence. 

In a letter to External Affairs Minister, National Convenor of Association Nasir Khuehami said that Sabha Rasool, a fourth-year MBBS student at Urmia University of Medical Sciences, passed away following a sudden deterioration in her health, leaving her family, friends, and community in deep shock and inconsolable grief. “Her friends and batchmates, who were present during her illness and at the hospital, have alleged that her death may have been the result of gross medical negligence,” the letter to Dr. Jaishankar reads. 

According to the account provided by her friends, Saba had been experiencing nausea and vomiting for several days. They claimed it took three hours for a regular ambulance to arrive, and upon reaching the hospital, she was allegedly made to wait for two hours before being allotted a bed in the Emergency Ward (Urjanas). “Despite her critical condition, she was reportedly kept only on normal saline for two days and given painkillers only when she complained of pain. Friends allege that her vitals were not checked for an entire day and there was no regular monitoring,” the letter stated.

The Association said that after repeated requests to transfer her to the GI Ward, she was moved from the Emergency Ward to a corridor outside the GI Ward. Later, she was shifted to the International Patient Department (IPD), where her condition reportedly deteriorated further. “Friends say she developed seizures, her vitals became unstable, and she experienced tachycardia. She was then moved to the ICU. On the final day, she stopped speaking and kept her eyes closed,” it added.

Quoting one of her friends, the Association wrote: “Till the time she was stable, we were provided with all her reports. However, after her condition worsened, no medical reports have been shared with us.”

Doctors cited the cause of death as fulminant hepatic failure (acute liver failure) along with pulmonary complications. However, her friends and fellow students alleged that until her death, the doctors were unable to diagnose her exact illness.

He said that Family needs immediate assistance in bringing the young students' mortal remains back for thr last rites at her ancestral area. He urged the External Affairs Minister to take up the matter with the concerned authorities in Iran to ensure an impartial and transparent investigation, and to press for strict action against the hospital if negligence is confirmed. “At the same time, the bereaved family’s immediate and desperate priority is to bring the mortal remains home and perform her last rites in her homeland in accordance with our cultural and religious traditions,” it said.

Calling it “a desperate plea from a devastated family seeking both justice and the opportunity to see their daughter one last time,” the Association's Iran Unit Coordinator Faizan Aishna said that Dr. Jaishankar’s timely intervention “will not only bring solace to their shattered hearts but also reaffirm India’s commitment to the dignity and protection of its citizens abroad.”

He Urged External Affairs Minister to intervene urgently to liaise with Iranian authorities and ensure that all humanitarian and administrative procedures are completed at the earliest, so that Sabha Rasool’s family can receive her mortal remains without unnecessary delay and accord her the dignified farewell she deserves.