Man Last Seen with Indian-Origin Student Sudiksha Konanki Grilled in Dominican Republic, Massive Land and Sea Search On- wna24
Authorities in the Dominican Republic and the United States have intensified the massive land and sea search operation for 20-year-old Indian-origin Sudiksha Konanki. A student of the University of Pittsburgh in the United States, Konanki went missing during a trip to the Dominican Republic. As per reports stating police officials, she had arrived in Punta Cana on March 3 with five other students. Sudiksha Konanki (5 feet 4 inches tall with black hair and brown eyes, as per reports) was last seen early on March 6 morning, at around 4 AM when she reportedly went out for a walk along the beach at the RIU Republica Resort.
One young man, who is believed to have been with the missing student just before her disappearance in Punta Cana, is now being questioned by the Dominican Republic authorities.
According to the reports quoting Dominican National Police sources, surveillance footage showed that at around 5.55 AM, five women and a man were seen leaving the beach area while Konanki is believed to have stayed behind with the young man. The footage further revealed that the young man left the beach at 9.55 AM, but Konanki wasn’t with him. The probe agencies are now focused on intensifying the maritime search based on the statement given by the young man. Police are also questioning other students who were with Konanki before she went missing.
Reports also stated that the now missing Indian-origin student was in a brown two-piece bikini at the time of her disappearance. She was wearing large round earrings, a metal designer anklet on her right leg, a multicolored beaded bracelet on her left hand, and yellow-steel bracelets on her right hand.
According to Subbarayudu Konanki, the father of the missing student, her daughter, who was on her spring break ahead of pre-med studies, went to the beach with her friends and some other men they met at the RIU Republica Resort. He stated that although her friends returned after some time, she didn’t. The friends of the missing student informed the authorities at 4 PM local time, almost 12 hours after she went missing, as per the hotel sources.
Subbarayudu Konanki and his family, with roots in India, have been living in the United States since 2006. They are the permanent residents of Loudoun County. The Indian Embassy in the Dominican Republic has taken cognizance of the matter and is in constant touch with both the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office and the local law enforcement of the Dominican Republic to locate Sudiksha Konanki.
The massive search operation is being led by joint forces of the Dominican Civil Defense, Navy, firefighters, Police, and Politur (tourist police). Helicopters and drones have been deployed.