Bengaluru: A resident Sreenivasaiah approached the state govt, seeking its intervention in tracing his 22-year-old son, Saketh Sreenivasiah, who went missing from Berkeley, California, USA, since Feb 12. The boy’s backpack, with his passport and laptop, was found on a doorstep in the Park Hills neighbourhood and he was last seen in the 1700 block of Dwight Way, according to local media reports. Sreenivasaiah resides at Srigandada Kaval, west Bengaluru. In his letter, Sreenivasiah wrote, “Our son, Saketh Sreenivasiah, is currently pursuing his Master of Science degree at the University of California, Berkeley, California, USA. He has been missing since the morning of Feb 12. His housemate searched all known places and, after confirming that he was not traceable, lodged a formal complaint at Berkeley police station. Police are actively investigating and searching for him; however, his whereabouts remain unknown.”Reacting to his plea, chief secretary Shalini Rajneesh wrote to secretary to Govt of India, Ministry of external affairs, Vikram Misri, stating: “Given the gravity of the situation and the mounting anxiety of his family residing in our state, I request your kind intervention and support. It is requested that the Ministry of external affairs, through the Consulate General of India in San Francisco, extend all necessary assistance, including coordination with local law enforcement and facilitation of support to the family.“The Indian consulate in San Francisco had expressed deep concern about his disappearance. It said in an X post: “…deeply concerned about the disappearance of Saketh Sreenivasaiah, an Indian postgraduate student of UC Berkeley, hailing from the State of Karnataka. The Consulate is in touch with the family and also is in contact with the concerned local authorities to locate the student.”
