23-Year-Old Indian Student Nitheesha Kandula From Hyderabad Goes Missing In California

A 23-year-old Indian student, Nitheesha Kandula, has gone missing in California. Kandula, a student at California State University, San Bernardino (CSUSB), was last seen in Los Angeles on May 28. The police reported her missing on May 30.

John Guttierez, Chief of Police, CSUSB, posted on X requesting public assistance. "#MissingPersonAlert: California State University, San Bernardino Police along with our partners in #LAPD, is asking anyone with information on the whereabouts of @CSUSBNews Nitheesha Kandula, to contact us at: (909) 537-5165," he said.

Kandula, originally from Hyderabad, moved to the US for academic and career opportunities. She is described as 5 feet 6 inches tall, weighing around 160 pounds (72.5 kgs), with black hair and black eyes. She might be driving a 2021 Toyota Corolla with a California license plate, though the colour is unknown.

This incident follows the case of Rupesh Chandra Chintakind, a 26-year-old Indian student, who went missing in Chicago last month. The missing cases have raised concerns within the Indian community in America.

Earlier this year, more than a dozen Indian students died in the US, most due to violent attacks. In April, Mohammad Abdul Arfath, a 25-year-old from Hyderabad, was found dead in Cleveland. Arfath had arrived in the US last May to pursue a Masters in IT from Cleveland University.

In March, Amarnath Ghosh, a 34-year-old classical dancer from India, was shot dead in St Louis, Missouri. Sameer Kamath, a 23-year-old Indian-American student at Purdue University, was found dead in a nature preserve in Indiana on February 5.

On February 2, Vivek Taneja, a 41-year-old Indian-origin IT executive, suffered life-threatening injuries during an assault outside a restaurant in Washington. In January, Akul Dhawan, an 18-year-old University of Illinois student, was found unresponsive outside a campus building. He died due to hypothermia, with authorities attributing his death to acute alcohol intoxication and prolonged exposure to cold temperatures.