Denied visa, Punjab woman commits suicide

Denied a visa to travel abroad, a 21-year-old woman committed suicide by setting herself on fire in her village near Amritsar, police said on Sunday.

Police have initiated inquest proceedings and sent the body for postmortem.

Pooranpreet Kaur, according to her family, was depressed after her visa to go abroad was rejected. She set herself on fire at her home in Sarhali village, about 250 km from here, on Sunday.

Some neighbours heard her cries after she set herself on fire and rushed her to a hospital. However, doctors declared her dead.

Police officials said that it was not known immediately which country had rejected her visa application.

The victim's mother told the police that the victim had earlier this year cleared the IELTS (International English Language Testing System) examination and had applied for a visa to go abroad.

The victim had completed her studies till senior secondary (Class 12th).

Thousands of youth from Punjab apply for immigration to other countries for studies and jobs every year.

--IANS

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