Hyderabad student missing in Finland found dead in Helsinki sea, family seeks probe

The body of Hyderabad student Manideep Reddy, missing since May 5, has been recovered from the sea in Helsinki. His family has called the death suspicious and demanded a proper investigation by Finnish authorities.

In Short

• Embassy informed family after Finnish authorities confirmed body recovery
• Student disappeared on May 5 while studying software engineering
• Family says communication from Finnish authorities stopped after May 29

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 by the Indian Embassy in Finland with his family.

The family’s lawyer, KLB Kumar, said on Saturday that the embassy informed the family by email on Friday after being told by Finnish authorities about the recovery. He said the family believes the death is suspicious and has sought a proper investigation.

Manideep Reddy was pursuing a Bachelor’s Programme in Software and Systems Engineering at Lappeenranta-Lahti University of Technology, Lahti Campus, in Finland. He was residing at Ritaniemenkatu in Lahti. Kumar said Manideep was last seen at a mall in Helsinki on May 5.

Kumar said he and the family feel it is a suspicious death. He alleged that the Finnish government was intentionally suppressing "many facts/things" and covering up the issue as a natural death. He also claimed that the case was not properly investigated.

"We have many doubts. After two months, the body has been recovered. We strongly feel that it is a suspicious death and not a natural death," Kumar said, adding that Manideep’s parents are in agony and fear that something happened on May 5 itself. He requested the Central government to allow the parents to go to Finland, make enquiries and see the body.

"We demand that the death should be investigated properly. They (Finnish authorities) are supposed to investigate the circumstances under which the boy disappeared and how the death occurred," he said.

Kumar further claimed that after the case was registered by the Finnish police, the family was initially given brief information about the investigation, but after May 29, communication "stopped".

Manideep’s father, Gujja Muthyam Reddy, had told PTI on June 19 that a friend of his son from Delhi had lodged a complaint with the Finnish police at the family’s request.

He had also said that after May 29, all communication between the family and the authorities in Finland had completely ceased.

According to him, despite repeated emails, telephone calls and continuous efforts to get updates on the investigation and his son’s whereabouts, the authorities had not responded or shared any further information. The case has now moved from a missing student search to a death investigation, with the family continuing to demand answers.

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