Unsettling reports about a young Indian-origin student in his teens were on the rise on Tuesday (US time). According to multiple local news outlets in the United States, Gautham Rajanikanth was reported missing in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, a few days ago. This week, the South Fayette Township Police Department, which had been looking for the school student, concluded the search.
A civil alert titled “Police seek missing 17-year-old” was published on the official South Fayette Township website on March 16 (US time). Aligning with reports (by US news outlets WPXI.com and ABC’s WTAE.com) that the search had been called off, authorities later archived the aforementioned post on southfayettepa.com as well. However, the archived post, along with the Gautham’s photo, was still visible on the website as of the time of writing.
In the aftermath of the local US outlets’ coverage of the “missing person” news, certain NRI-focussed platforms started circulating heart-rending claims about the Indian-origin teen’s well-being, suggesting that he may have died in America. In a shocking development, the Instagram page ‘nris_adda’ seemingly quoted the 11th-grade student’s family in a Tuesday (IST) post that alleged Rajanikanth had passed away.
Disclaimer: Limited information was available at the time of writing. This story will be updated with comments from official authorities as and when they’re available.
Reports say Indian-origin Gautham Rajanikanth died in the US
“With deep sadness, I want to inform that Gautham, a young 11th-grade student from the Pittsburgh (South Fayette) area who had been missing since Sunday, has sadly passed away,” @nris_adda said in a post on Instagram on Tuesday (IST). “I just spoke with his mother; she was not in a position to share the reason. We are very sorry to hear this heartbreaking news and will share more information when available.”
An obituary page also reported on Tuesday that the South Fayette Township, Pennsylvania community was mourning the tragic loss of the 17-year-old. Although ‘ObituaryLens’ stated Rajanikanth was “found dead after being reported missing earlier this week,” officials have yet to address claims of the purported tragic loss. Multiple such obituaries have since continued emerge on the internet since then.
“His passing has left family members, friends, classmates, and neighbors heartbroken as they come to terms with the devastating news,” ObituaryLens wrote about the 17-year-old. “Friends and loved ones remember Gautham as a bright young individual whose presence made a difference in the lives of those around him. Though details about his life remain private, the reaction from the community highlights the impact he had and the connections he formed. The tragedy has also underscored the importance of community solidarity, as residents came together to support the search efforts.”
On the contrary, local US news reports by WPXI.com and ABC’s WTAE.com suggested that no additional information had been provided by local authorities on the case. As of March 16 evening (US time), the only fresh update from them was that the search for the missing boy had concluded. Officials did not even disclose whether the boy had been found.
What do we know about Indian-origin student Gautham Rajanikanth?
The South Fayette Township Police Department had been looking for the Gautham these past few days as he was last seen in the early afternoon on Sunday, WPXI reported. US reports cited police saying that the teen was wearing a T-shirt, light-coloured pants and gray backpack.
So far, the limited US news coverage on the young boy’s ‘missing’ case appears to have only confirmed that he was 17-year-old 11th-grade student in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
This is a developing story.