Why missing Indian student Sudiksha Konanki’s parents want her declared dead?

Konanki went missing while on vacation in the Dominican Republic. She was last seen on March 6 at the Riu Republic Resort in Punta Cana town.

The US federal law enforcement agencies are working with authorities in the Dominican Republic in the probe into her disappearance.

Diego Pesqueira, spokesperson of the Dominican Republic National Police, said that the Indian student’s family sent the agency a letter requesting a declaration of death.

According to a New York Post report, Konanki’s family in a letter said there is no foul play involved in her presumed death after she vanished froma Punta Cana beach in the early hours of March 6, ABC News reported.

The father and mother also wrote they trust the authorities’ probe into the case and noted Joshua Riibe, the last person to see the young woman alive, has cooperated with investigators.

Konanki’s parents in the same letter said that they understand that certain legal procedures must be followed for their request, but that they are prepared to comply with any necessary formalities or documentation, ABC News quoted the sources in a report.

ALSO READ: Sudiksha Konanki missing: Indian student made two Venmo payments before disappearing

Konanki, described by her father as an “ambitious” student who planned to study medicine, arrived in Punta Cana on March 3. She travelled with five other female students from the University of Pittsburgh, according to the Loudon County Sheriff’s Office.

ALSO READ: Sudiksha Konanki’s clothes found on lounge chair at Dominican Republic beach where she disappeared

Passport of the man last seen with Sudiksha confiscated

According to a CNN News report, authorities in the Dominican Republic confiscated the passport of Joshua Steven Riibe, the last person known to have been with Konanki.

ALSO READ: Sudiksha Konanki disappearance: ‘Person of interest’ Joshua Riibe gives ultimatum to Dominican Republic cops

Dominican Republic Attorney General Yeni Berenice Reynoso interviewed Riibe, over the weekend for more than six hours and the questioning is expected to continue with a local prosecutor.

ALSO READ: Sudiksha Konanki disappearance: Joshua Riibe gets support from Iowa community, ‘He exemplifies the values of compassion’

Riibe is not considered a suspect in the case and has not been accused of wrongdoing.

It’s unclear why Riibe’s passport was confiscated. Since Konanki went missing in the early hours of March 6, Riibe, a 22-year-old from Rock Rapids, Iowa, and a senior at St. Cloud State University in Minnesota, has remained under police surveillance in the Dominican Republic.

He has been taken to the police station for interrogation multiple times, his parents said in a statement.

(With PTI inputs)