The body of an 18-year-old student from Hyderabad, who went missing in Finland in May, has been recovered from the sea in Helsinki, according to information shared with his family by the Indian Embassy in Finland.
In an email sent to the family on Friday, the embassy said Finnish authorities had informed it that the body of Manideep Reddy had been found in the sea in Helsinki, the family’s lawyer KLB Kumar said on Saturday, PTI reported.
Manideep Reddy was pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Software and Systems Engineering at Lappeenranta-Lahti University of Technology (LUT University), Lahti campus, and was residing in Lahti. According to Kumar, the student was last seen at a shopping mall in Helsinki on May 5 before he went missing.
Family Suspects ‘Suspicious Death’
The family has expressed doubts over the circumstances surrounding his death, alleging that the case has not been properly investigated. Kumar claimed they believe it to be a “suspicious death” rather than a natural one and alleged that Finnish authorities were attempting to portray the incident as a natural death without a thorough probe.
“We have many doubts. The body has been recovered after two months. We strongly feel this is a suspicious death and not a natural one,” Kumar said, adding that Manideep’s parents suspect something may have happened to him on the day he disappeared.
Family Urges Centre to Help Them Travel To Finland
The family has urged the Central government to facilitate the parents’ travel to Finland so they can identify the body and seek further information about the investigation. They have also demanded a comprehensive inquiry into the circumstances leading to the student’s disappearance and death.
Kumar further alleged that while Finnish police initially shared updates with the family after a missing person case was registered, all communication stopped after May 29.
Earlier, on June 19, Manideep’s father, Gujja Muthyam Reddy, had said that one of his son’s friends from Delhi had filed a complaint with the Finnish police at the family’s request. He had alleged that despite repeated emails, phone calls and continuous efforts to obtain updates, Finnish authorities stopped responding after May 29 and provided no further information on the progress of the investigation or his son’s whereabouts.
