Daijiworld Media Network - Hyderabad

Hyderabad, Nov 24: A promising young physician from Andhra Pradesh, Dr. Rohini, tragically died by suicide in Hyderabad on Sunday, reportedly after her application for a J-1 visa to pursue medical specialization in the United States was denied.

Police officials confirmed that the doctor, a native of Guntur district, was found to have taken a lethal overdose of sleeping pills at her residence. A case has been registered, and an investigation into the circumstances of her death is underway. Her body was subsequently moved to Guntur following a post-mortem examination.

According to her distraught family, Dr. Rohini had been striving for a year to secure a residency program in the US. Her mother, Lakshmi Rajyam, stated that Rohini, despite being a brilliant student, became deeply depressed following the rejection of her J-1 visa application. The denial is attributed to the recent tightening of US visa regulations.

Her brother, Sujan, added that Dr. Rohini had successfully completed three steps of the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) and had already been selected for a US residency program after completing an observership there. Dr. Rohini had earned her MBBS degree in Russia a few years prior. After securing admission to a US residency program, she returned to India specifically to upgrade her visa status to the required J-1 category. She had reportedly been attempting to process her visa through the US consulate in Hyderabad. Compounding her distress, she was allegedly under increasing pressure from the US college to join the program quickly to prevent the termination of her admission, while the recent tightening of visa norms under President Donald Trump for researchers and corporate job holders created an insurmountable hurdle.