Amid the harrowing events in the tech space, a 35-year-old Indian origin software engineer at Microsoft, Pratik Pandey, was found dead in California. As revealed by family sources, he was working late on the night of August 19 and reportedly breathed his last within the office premises. With the investigation still on, the cause of death remains unknown as per the Santa Clara County medical examiner.
Microsoft has not issued any official statement following Pandey’s demise as his loved ones mourn the loss. Described as a “hardworking professional” and “a joyful soul with a radiant smile,” Pandey was also the father of a son, survived by several family members in India, reported Bloomberg.
Who was Pratik Pandey?
Before joining Microsoft, Pratik Pandey worked at companies including Walmart and Apple, as per his LinkedIn profile. After completing his education at San Jose State University, he joined Newgen Technologies in 2012. With nearly a decade of work experience, he had been working with Microsoft for over 5 years as a software engineer within the Microsoft Fabric and Synapse products. He reported to AI chief Scott Guthrie, the executive vice president.
At Walmart, he was overseeing the software development role and built cloud-based RESTful Web services with a special focus on automation. Pandey also did brief stints at Apple, Illumina, Cinequest, Hoverboard Technologies, and John Deere.
Delayed report of death
Several claims arose when Microsoft reportedly made a delay of more than 40 hours in reporting the incident. As per the Bloomberg report, the police responded to the scene on August 20 and found “no signs of any suspicious activity or behavior.” Pratik Pandey’s death is not being treated under criminal investigation, as per the Mountain View Police.
Tributes pour in
Pandey was an integral part of the community, as social media was flooded with tributes after the news of his death was made public. Satish, a candidate running for the Santa Clara City Council, took to Instagram and shared, “Pratik was more than a colleague and a neighbor.” He went on to describe him with kind words as he upheld the community’s standing in “grief and solidarity.”
Another user, under the post, shared that they were Pandey’s college roommate. Condoling the loss, the user claimed that he had known Pandey for over a decade.
As per Satish’s post, Pandey’s family in India still awaits performing the last rites. The Indian Consulate is yet to release any further information about the Mountain View incident.
