Berkeley grieves Indian graduate student Saketh Sreenivasaiah found in Lake Anza
News from Berkeley's Desi community this week has centred on the loss of Indian graduate student Saketh Sreenivasaiah, whose body was recovered from Lake Anza at Tilden Regional Park after he was reported missing in the city. The Consulate General of India in San Francisco stepped in to support his family and to coordinate with local authorities during the search. Separately, in an education note tied to the campus, the Tamil Nadu government signed a memorandum with UC Berkeley for cooperation on the state's energy transition.
🗳️ Indian consulate joins Berkeley police in Lake Anza search
The Consulate General of India in San Francisco expressed deep concern over the disappearance of the 22-year-old Indian post-graduate student at the University of California, Berkeley, who hailed from Karnataka. Posting on X, the mission said it was in touch with the family and in contact with local authorities to help locate the student. Berkeley police confirmed that a search was under way near Lake Anza after he was last seen on Tuesday, and said he had reportedly been upset about a relationship. Officers reported that his backpack, holding his passport and laptop, had been found on a doorstep in the Park Hills neighbourhood next to Tilden Regional Park. Investigators said they were working with the East Bay Regional Park District to coordinate ongoing search efforts and continued to ask the community for help. Police described him as six feet one inch tall, weighing about 160 pounds, with short black hair and brown eyes, and identified him as Indian. He was last seen in the 1700 block of Dwight Way, near McGee Avenue. According to his professional profile, he was pursuing his master's degree in the Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering department at UC Berkeley, having earlier earned an undergraduate degree at the Indian Institute of Technology. [6]
Roommate recalls final days, urges mental-health attention
Saketh Sreenivasaiah, a 22-year-old master's student in chemical and biomolecular engineering at UC Berkeley, was found dead in Lake Anza at Tilden Regional Park on February 14, days after being reported missing. A native of Karnataka, he had completed his undergraduate degree at the Indian Institute of Technology in Madras before starting his graduate programme. Alameda County Sheriff's dive teams recovered his body from the lake, about a twelve-minute drive from campus, and the Contra Costa County Coroner's Office confirmed his identity two days later. Authorities said he had been distressed over a relationship at the time of his disappearance. His roommate, Baneet Singh, wrote on LinkedIn that in the two weeks before Saketh went missing he had begun eating less and engaging less, surviving on chips and cookies. Singh recalled a final conversation in which Saketh, wrapped in a red bathrobe, said he had stopped caring about anything, a remark Singh took as typical silliness at the time. Looking back, Singh wrote that the opposite of life was not death but indifference, and is now working with authorities to bring the family from India on an emergency visa. The report placed the death in the context of rising mental-health concerns among AAPI youth, citing a 2024 study that identified suicide as the leading cause of death in that group. [5]
🎓 Tamil Nadu inks energy-sector MoU with UC Berkeley
The Tamil Nadu government signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the University of California, Berkeley to formalise cooperation in the energy sector, in an agreement announced in the presence of Chief Minister MK Stalin. The memorandum was concluded between the State Energy Department and the university, and is framed as a long-term research partnership. State officials described UC Berkeley as a leading institution for work on energy systems and energy storage technologies, and said the collaboration is expected to strengthen sustainable energy production across Tamil Nadu. Planners see the deal supporting modernisation of the state's power grid and transmission network. Central themes named in the MoU include the development of new energy storage mechanisms, improvements to power infrastructure and a broader enhancement of technical expertise in the sector. Skill development and specialised training programmes for employees of the state energy department were also written into the agreement. The signing forms part of Tamil Nadu's wider push to draw on international university research as it plans its energy transition. Officials indicated the arrangement would give department staff access to Berkeley's research base as the state modernises its grid. [4]
Sources: [6] Gulf News · [5] nextshark.com · [4] EdexLive