Mall footage, a mysterious login, and a Hyderabad teen gone missing in Finland

4 min readHyderabadUpdated: Jun 19, 2026 06:26 PM IST

Manideep Reddy Gujja, an 18-year-old student from Hyderabad studying in Finland, who has been missing since May 5 after travelling to Helsinki from Lahti. (Special arrangement photo)

The last image of Manideep Reddy Gujja that Finland police got was of him casually walking along the aisles of a shopping mall in Helsinki, about 100 kilometres from his residence in Lahti, on May 5. The 18-year-old has been missing ever since, and his parents have approached the Telangana High Court, seeking directions to authorities to trace their son.

Originally from Hyderabad, Gujja was a student of the University of Lappeenranta-Lahti University of Technology (LUT) in Finland and regularly attended classes, his parents, Mamata Reddy and G Muthyam Reddy, said.

“He never really socialised. His day began with college and ended at the living quarters, which he shared with his roommate,” Mamata said.

On May 5, according to his parents, Gujja asked for Rs 5,000. “He called me to ask for this small amount of money, and I transferred it,” his mother said. Since then, using about Rs 2,500, he travelled for over 100 kilometres by bus and reached Helsinki, Finnish police found. The reason for the journey remains a mystery.

A CCTV image released during the investigation shows Manideep Reddy Gujja walking through a shopping mall in Helsinki on May 5. Finnish authorities say this is the last confirmed sighting of the 18-year-old Indian student before he went missing. (Special arrangement photo)

Gone missing from Helsinki

In Helsinki, he was seen having a bite at an eatery and walking into a shopping mall. His phone became unreachable shortly afterwards. “We don’t know what happened to him,” his mother said, weeping.

Gujja had moved to Finland in 2025 to study to become an engineer. “We thought that he would come back and do well in a good job,” the mother said.

His younger brother, who is still in school, misses him badly, Mamata said, adding, “He used to call almost every day. He was attached to his brother. Now, we are in despair.”

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According to the writ filed in the High Court by his parents through Advocate KLB Kumar, a missing persons case was registered in Finland’s Lahti on May 11. “The Finnish authorities conducted enquiries at his residence, examined available records, contacted his roommate, verified hospital admissions and made enquiries through various government and transportation authorities,” the writ read. “Despite these searches, it is not clear where he has gone or what happened to him,” Mamata Reddy said.

Unanswered questions

Gujja’s credit and debit cards have not yet been used since he went missing. “There was no transaction history after the day he went missing. Without money, how can he survive?” his mother asked. However, someone had logged in using his university ID twice after he went missing. “The police have not traced who that was,” his mother said.

The parents now want to go to Finland to search for their son. “The Finnish authorities denied both of us visas. How are we to look for our son?” Muthyam Reddy said. Their lawyer said the couple should have been given a visa on compassionate grounds. “They just want to go to that country to look for their son,” Kumar said.

Based on the writ filed in Hyderabad, the court has asked the Ministry of External Affairs to respond at the earliest. The case is up for hearing again on June 24.

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Nikhila Henry is an Assistant Editor at The Indian Express, based in Hyderabad. With a career spanning 17 years, she has established herself as an authoritative voice on South Indian affairs, specialising in the complex intersections of politics, education, and social justice.

Experience & Career: Nikhila commenced her journalism career in 2007 as an education correspondent for The Times of India in Hyderabad,where she gained recognition for her coverage of student politics. Her professional trajectory includes a four-year tenure at The Hindu, where she focused on minority affairs and social welfare. In 2019, she took on a leadership role as the South Bureau Chief for The Quint, where she directed regional coverage across all five South Indian states. Her expansive career also includes a tenure at the BBC in New Delhi and contributions to prestigious international outlets such as The Sunday Times (London) and HuffPost India.

Expertise & Focus Areas

Nikhila’s reportage is marked by a deep-seated understanding of grassroots movements and institutional policy. Her core focus areas include:

Regional Politics: Comprehensive analysis of the socio-political dynamics across South India.

Education & Student Movements: Chronicling the evolution of Indian academics and the rise of youth activism.

Minority Affairs: Rigorous reporting on the welfare, rights, and challenges facing marginalized communities.

National Beat: Elevating regional stories to national prominence through investigative and on-ground reporting.

Authoritativeness & Trust

A respected figure in Indian media, Nikhila is not only a seasoned reporter but also an accomplished author and editor. She authored the critically acclaimed book The Ferment: Youth Unrest in India and edited Caste is Not a Rumour, a collection of writings by Rohith Vemula. Her dual background in daily news reporting and long-form authorship allows her to provide readers with a nuanced, historically-informed perspective on contemporary Indian society.

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