The body of Gurashman Singh Bhatia, an Indian student reported missing after a night out with friends last Thursday, December 14, was found by police divers in a lake in the Canary Wharf area of east London. According to the United Kingdom's Metropolitan Police, they were now appealing for information to piece together Bhatia's last movements.
The body of the 23-year-old was found as the officers carried out "extensive enquiries" and scanned CCTV videos, spoke to witnesses and analysed phone and financial data.
Water searches were also carried out in the area and a body believed to be that of Bhatia was recovered by police divers in the water in South Quay.
Bhatia's case was also flagged with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar by BJP leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa.
The student was pursuing an MSc in Digital Finance at Loughborough University.
"Deeply saddened to hear about the passing of GS Bhatia, a Loughborough University student who was missing since December 15. 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.
Meanwhile, Detective Chief Superintendent (DCI) James Conway, responsible for local policing in the Tower Hamlets area of Canary Wharf, said, "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."
"Because of this, we are releasing a CCTV image of Gurashman that was taken before his disappearance and would like anyone who may have seen him in the Marsh Wall area on the evening of Thursday, 14 December and in the early hours of Friday, 15 December, to contact us," he was quoted by news agency PTI as saying.
Conway added that this was an "extremely tragic outcome" to their missing persons inquiry and not the news he was hoping to give to Gurashman’s family and friends.
"I send them my deepest condolences," he said.
In November this year, another 23-year-old Indian student, who had gone missing in the UK, was found dead in the River Thames. Identified as Mitkumar Patel, the student had arrived in the UK for higher studies in September and was reported missing on November 17.
The Metropolitan Police discovered his body in the River Thames near the Canary Wharf area of east London on November 21.
