Indian student missing in Dominican Republic: Sudiksha Konanki made strange payments before vanishing

Sudiksha Konanki, the 20-year-old Indian-origin student from the University of Pittsburgh who went missing, reportedly made two Venmo transactions on March 5, just before disappearing.

Konanki, a citizen of India and a permanent resident of the United States, was last seen on March 6 at the Riu Republic Resort in Punta Cana town.

She has gone missing while on vacation in the Dominican Republic and US federal law enforcement agencies are working with authorities in the Caribbean country in the probe into her disappearance.

As per a report in The US Sun, two Venmo payments were made by Konanki on the afternoon before she went missing. The first transaction was made at 2:54 pm with the emoji of a sailboat in the description, while the second payment towards "Coco Bongo" - a renowned nightclub was initiated at 3:38 pm.

Both the payment were sent to different users and the amount remains unknown.

A student at the University of Pittsburgh, Konanki was vacationing with five female college friends at a resort in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, when she went missing on March 6, the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.

In a previous statement, police said surveillance cameras captured five women and one man leaving the beach at about 6 am on March 6. Konanki apparently stayed behind with a man, and surveillance video shows him leaving the beach area hours later without her, the report said.

The Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office, Konanki's hometown in Virginia, said Joshua Riibe was seen with Sudiksha at a resort before she went missing, spokesperson Chad Quinn told USA TODAY.

Though Konanki's father has asked local authorities to broaden the investigation, Quinn said the case is not a criminal investigation, so Riibe is not considered a suspect in Konanki's disappearance.

"This particular individual may have been the last one to have seen her, so is of particular interest," Quinn was quoted as saying by the USA TODAY.

Quinn confirmed Riibe was a person of interest in the case, but cautioned against jumping to conclusions, the New York Post reported.

Meanwhile, family members of Konanki, a native of India, live in a Washington, DC, suburb, and the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office are assisting the FBI and local law enforcement in the investigation.

(With PTI inputs)