Roommate Shares Emotional Note After Student’s Death

Indian student Saketh Sreenivasaiah found dead in California lake

February 15, 2026: Baneet Sidd, roommate of 22-year-old Indian student Saketh Sreenivasaiah, has shared an emotional message following Saketh’s death in California. Saketh, who had been missing since February 9, was found dead at Lake Anza on Saturday afternoon. In a LinkedIn post, Sidd said authorities informed him that the case was being treated as a suicide, describing the news as deeply distressing and saying it left the campus community “shaken to the core.”

Originally from Karnataka, Saketh was pursuing a master’s degree in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley. He had completed his undergraduate studies at IIT Madras before moving to the United States. Sidd reflected that in the weeks leading up to the incident, Saketh had shown subtle behavioural changes, including reduced eating and sleeping, minimal interaction, and emotional withdrawal.

Sidd also recalled that Saketh had once invited him to visit Lake Anza on January 21, a detail that has since taken on painful significance. He remembered a recent conversation in which Saketh appeared detached and emotionally numb, comments he initially dismissed as casual. Concluding his post, Sidd highlighted the immense pressures faced by international students living far from home and familiar support systems. Authorities have not released further details about the case.