Missing Indian Student Found Dead in London Lake

The body of a 23-year-old Indian student who had been missing since last Thursday has been found in a lake in the Canary Wharf area of east London.

The deceased, identified as Gurashman Singh Bhatia, was reported missing after a night out with friends. Singh was pursuing an MSc in Digital Finance at Loughborough University.

The Metropolitan Police have appealed for information in the case as they try to find out what happened before Singh's death.

"Gurashman's death is being treated as unexpected, and while there is nothing to suggest it was suspicious, we will ensure our investigation is as thorough as possible to confirm this," said Detective Chief Superintendent (DCI) James Conway, per India Today.

The police have released an image of the student from the CCTV footage and have asked people to come forward if they "have seen him in the Marsh Wall area on the evening of Thursday, 14 December, and in the early hours of Friday, 15 December".

According to Indian media reports, Singh came from Jalandhar, Punjab, to pursue higher studies last year.

The Indian student community in the UK had been making appeals on social media platforms after Singh went missing last week. His case was also flagged with India's External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar by BJP leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa.

"Deeply saddened to hear about the passing of GS Bhatia, a Loughborough University student who was missing since Dec 15th. Our thoughts are with the family and friends during this difficult time. May Waheguru give strength to his parents mourning this profound loss," Sirsa said in a social media post.

In a similar incident reported in London last month, another 23-year-old Indian student was found dead in the River Thames. The student, identified as Mitkumar Patel, had come to the UK for higher studies in September and was reported missing on November 17.

His body was found in the River Thames near the Canary Wharf area of east London on November 21.

"The death is not believed to be suspicious," the Met Police said at the time. According to local media reports, Patel was due to move to Sheffield on November 20 to start a degree at Sheffield Hallam University.

He was staying with his relatives, who reached out to the police when Patel failed to return home from a daily walk.

The UK gets a record number of college applications from Indian students. It is one of the most sought-after destinations for higher studies.

China and India made up 41 per cent of all international enrollments in UK universities in 2022 and 2023.