BY VEENA RAO
UPDATE: Rupesh Chandra Chintakindi, the “missing” graduate student is currently in the Pima County Adult Detention Center in Tucson, Arizona. His bail has been set for $50,000.
NRI Pulse will bring you more details as soon as they become available.
May 9, 2024: A graduate student from Telangana, India, studying at Concordia University in Milwaukee, has been missing from Chicago since May 2, according to sources.
Rupesh Chandra Chintakindi came to the US in January 2024 to pursue a master’s degree in Business Analytics.
According to our sources, Chintakindi rented a car and drove to Houston, Texas on April 22. There, he met his cousin with whom he had dinner. When the cousin insisted that he stay with him, Chintakindi declined, saying that the hotel and cab were provided for by the people he was working for (or doing business with). He didn’t specify who he worked for or the nature of the work.
The cousin accompanied Chintakindi to the hotel and saw him pay for the hotel room during check-in (even though he had said everything was paid for). Chintakindi then dropped his cousin back home and promised to call before he left Houston. As promised, the graduate student called his cousin the following day (or the day after) as he was leaving. Chintakindi was back in Chicago on April 27. He told his roommates he took a flight back home, but his brother in India thinks he might have returned by road.
On April 30, he told his roommates that the people with whom he worked in Texas would visit him on May 2. He referred to ‘them’ as family friends. He said he would accompany them on an out-of-the-city trip and return on Thursday.
On Thursday, he contacted his roommate and told him he couldn’t return that day but would return on Friday (the next day).
Chintakindi has been unreachable since Friday. His last call was made on Thursday.
According to our source, Chintakindi’s roommates filed a complaint with the Chicago police. The police told them they could not trace their missing friend’s cell phone location without consent from his parents. The parents subsequently sent their consent via email. NRI Pulse has learned that as of two days ago, the police had still not done anything about tracing Chintakindi’s location. They have, however, issued a statement about the student, urging residents to provide any information about him.
Team Aid, a non-profit dedicated to assisting individuals in crises while abroad, is helping Chintakindi’s family and friends in their situation.
