Pooja, who was a native of Karnataka's Vijayapura, was born in Sion on July 4, 1994. Her family later shifted to Seawoods in Nerul.
The body of the Nerul girl who died in a fire in her medical institute in Russia will be arriving in India on February 17, according to her brother. In the shocking tragedy, two medical students from the state had died of suffocation after a fire broke out at their institute in Russia on Sunday morning. The deceased were identified as Karishma Bhosale (20) from Pune and Pooja Kallur (22) from Nerul. The fire was reported from the fourth floor of a six-storeyed girls hostel at Smolensk State Medical Academy in Russia.
Pooja, who was a native of Karnataka's Vijayapura, was born in Sion on July 4, 1994. Her family later shifted to Seawoods in Nerul. Her brother Mayur Kallur (24) told dna, "It's been 20 years since my family started living in Seawoods at Shree Radha Krishna CHS in sector 42 (A). We are nine siblings. Pooja was the youngest child. My sister was very friendly and smart. She studied in St Xavier's school in Nerul and got 95 per cent in SSC exams.
Later, she appeared for HSC exam from the Fr Agnels in Vashi and scored 78 per cent."
"It was Pooja's dream to pursue MBBS. So I took a loan from my family and got her an admission in the Smolensk State Medical Academy in Russia in 2012. It was a six-year course and she was in fourth year. She had told me that after her completing her studies, she wanted to go to the US for higher studies," said Pooja's father Siddappa M Kallur, a retired Air India (AI) employee.
He added, "The last time we spoke to Pooja was a few minutes ahead of the incident – around 4.30am as per Indian timing. Later around 11.30am, we received a call from her colleague's father, who lives in Chembur. He informed us about the incident. Then we started calling frantically on Pooja's mobile number but she did not respond. So we tried her friend's number, but it was also not reachable. Finally around 2pm, we called foreign vice-chancellor and advisor to counsellor Dr. Arron, who confirmed the incident. After half an hour, Dr Arron called back and informed us about Pooja's death."
Mayur said the incident took place because it is really cold in Russia and students use heaters in their rooms. "One of the students' bed caught fire while my sister Pooja and Karishma were sleeping inside. There was no warden at the time of the incident and no fire extinguisher inside the room. It was sheer negligence. One of Pooja's friend from Russia is in continuous touch with me through messages," he said.
Mayur added, "Last time Pooja came home was for our sister's wedding in July. She used to come home every year on a two-month vacation. The Indian embassy from Moscow told us that her body will be arriving in India on February 17."
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