ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
I’ve stopped caring: Roommate shares final words of UC Berkeley student before death
Singh's LinkedIn post detailed Sreenivasaiah's behavioral changes before his body was discovered at Lake Anza.
-
1759163132.png)
Anushka Pathak - Mon, 16, Feb 2026
- 13:51 EST
- 123
Baneet Singh and Saketh Sreenivasaiah / Courtesy: LinkedIn
Baneet Singh, the roommate of 22-year-old Indian graduate student Saketh Sreenivasaiah at the University of California, Berkeley, has spoken publicly about subtle but troubling changes in Sreenivasaiah’s behavior in the weeks before his death.
In a now-deleted LinkedIn post shared after Sreenivasaiah’s body was found in Lake Anza on Feb. 14, Singh wrote that his roommate began eating less, sleeping less, and withdrawing socially, “surviving only on chips and cookies” in the final two weeks before his disappearance on Feb. 9.
ALSO READ: Jaahnavi Kandula case: Family learnt about compensation deal through social media
He recalled that on Jan. 21, Sreenivasaiah invited him to visit Lake Anza, but he declined because he was “too lazy” to go. Reflecting on that decision, Singh wrote, “Little did I know that would be the same place he'd take his life.”
Singh also recounted a conversation in which he noticed Sreenivasaiah returning from class wearing a red bathrobe and asked about it. Sreenivasaiah responded, “I've stopped caring, man. I'm cold and don't care what anyone thinks of me. I don't care about anything.”
Singh said he initially dismissed the remark, thinking, “Saketh was just being silly as usual,” but later realized its seriousness. “Now I know that he really meant it,” he wrote, adding that “The opposite of life was never death. It was indifference.”
Describing the pressures faced by students studying abroad, Singh wrote, “Life as an international student is tough, man,” urging others to check in on friends and family living overseas. He said the loss was unexpected and painful, noting, “I didn't expect this from a friend who lived, ate, traveled, laughed, and joked with me. It hurts.”
He also encouraged people to respond by strengthening personal connections rather than remaining in grief. “Take this news as a way to bring together love with friends, instead of sitting in sorrow. Saketh would have wanted that for you all, too.” Singh said he planned to step away from social media to mourn and spend time with friends.
Sreenivasaiah was pursuing his Master of Science from the University of California, Berkeley. He graduated from the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, where he finished his Bachelor of Technology in chemical engineering.
Discover more at New India Abroad.
Related
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
E Paper
Video
Comments
Start the conversation
Become a member of New India Abroad to start commenting.
Sign Up Now
Already have an account? Login