NRI PULSE STAFF REPORT
Berkeley, CA, February 15, 2026: In a tragic development, Saketh Sreenivasaiah, a 22-year-old Indian-origin graduate student at the University of California, Berkeley, was found dead approximately six days after he was reported missing, authorities confirmed.
Sreenivasaiah had last been seen in Berkeley in early February, prompting a search by local police and volunteers, particularly in the Berkeley Hills area near Lake Anza. His disappearance had drawn concern in both the United States and India, with the Consulate General of India in San Francisco publicly expressing concern and coordinating with authorities and his family during the search.
His body was recovered in the Lake Anza area, where search operations had been focused following earlier developments in the case. Reports indicated that his backpack — containing personal belongings including his passport and laptop — had been found near Tilden Regional Park, intensifying search efforts in the surrounding area.
Local authorities recovered the body after days of coordinated search efforts involving police and rescue teams. Officials have not publicly released the cause of death, and the investigation remains ongoing.
The Consulate General of India in San Francisco confirmed the recovery and expressed condolences to Sreenivasaiah’s family. The consulate said it is assisting with arrangements, including repatriation of his remains to India.
Originally from Karnataka, India, Sreenivasaiah was a recent graduate of IIT Madras (Class of 2025) and was pursuing graduate studies in chemical and biomolecular engineering at UC Berkeley.
His death has sparked grief within academic and Indian-origin communities in the United States and abroad. Some friends have publicly described changes in his behavior in the weeks before his disappearance, though officials have not linked those accounts to the cause of death.
