The news of the death of Saket Srinivasiah, a 22-year-old Indian student studying in America, has left his family, friends and campus community in deep shock. Saket, who was pursuing post graduation at the University of California, Berkeley, was missing since February 9. His body was recovered from Lake Anza, California on Saturday afternoon. Local police have initially treated the case as a suicide, although detailed information regarding the circumstances of the death have not yet been made public.

Saket’s roommate Baneet Singh shared an emotional post on LinkedIn saying that the police informed him about this tragic incident. He wrote that this news is going to shake the entire campus community to the core. According to Banit, Saket seemed to be changing for the last few weeks. He started eating less food and was maintaining distance from people. He told that earlier there were no clear signs but in the last two weeks a clear change in his behavior started appearing.

‘I don’t care about anything’

Recalling their last conversation, the roommate wrote that one day when Saket returned from class, he was wearing a red colored robe. He commented on this in a light-hearted manner. In response, Saket said – ‘Now I don’t care what people think… I don’t care about anything.’ At that time Banit could not understand the seriousness of these words. However, now the same words are echoing in his mind. Baneet Singh said that he is in touch with the Indian Embassy and officials, so that Saket’s family can be called to America after getting an emergency visa.

Who was Saket Srinivasaiah?

1. Saket Srinivasaiah was a graduate student of chemical and biomolecular engineering at the University of California, USA.
2. Before this, he had completed his graduation in Chemical Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology Madras.
3. According to his LinkedIn profile, he was interested in advanced materials, semiconductors and deep-tech research. He was over 6 feet tall, with short black hair and brown eyes.
4. Following his disappearance, his parents sought help from the Karnataka government, following which the state government, through the Ministry of External Affairs, requested the intervention of the US Indian Mission.

This incident once again raises serious questions about the mental health of international students studying abroad. Being away from home, pressure of studies, loneliness and emotional conflicts sometimes break students from within. Saket’s untimely death has forced everyone to think about how important it is to understand someone’s pain in time.