FBI Offers $10K Reward for Information on Indian Woman Missing From New Jersey Since 2019
- Mayushi Bhagat, now 29, a student at the New York Institute of Technology, was last seen leaving her Jersey City apartment on April 19.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is offering a reward for information about an Indian woman who disappeared in New Jersey more than four years ago. The FBI Newark Field Office and the Jersey City Police Department said in a Dec. 14 announcement that authorities continue to seek the public’s help in locating Mayushi Bhagat, now 29, who was reported missing on May 1, 2019.
Bhagat, who was on a student visa, was studying at the New York Institute of Technology. She was last seen leaving her Jersey City apartment while wearing colorful pajama pants and a black T-shirt on April 19, 2019. Bhagat — who “also goes by Mayushi Vikas Bhagat and Mayusi Vikas Bhagat” — is 5 feet 10 inches tall, has black hair, brown eyes, weighs 150 to 160 pounds, and has a medium build,” police said. She speaks English, Hindi, and Urdu, and has friends in South Plainfield, New Jersey.
The $10,000 reward would be provided for information leading to Bhagat’s “location or recovery,” the announcement said.
Bhagat, who was on a student visa, was studying at the New York Institute of Technology. She was last seen leaving her Jersey City apartment while wearing colorful pajama pants and a black T-shirt on April 19, 2019.
The Times of India reported in 2019 that Bhagat, whose family lives in Vadodara, Gujarat, moved to the U.S. in 2015 to pursue a career in electrical and electronics engineering after graduating from the Vadodara Institute of Engineering. She attended the University of New Hampshire before transferring to the New York Institute of Technology. Her father Vikas Bhagat told The Times of India that he last spoke with his daughter through WhatsApp on May 1, 2019. She told him that she was fine, and was not returning home until May 3, 2019, and didn’t want “to be bothered.”
A GoFundMe page has been set up to help Bhagat’s family help to pay legal and investigative fees. The page, which appears to have been updated in December 2019, describes Bhagat as responsible, kind, intelligent, and very capable. “The search for Mayushi has taken an emotional and financial toll on the family, including substantial legal and investigative fees,” the page notes. “We are fundraising to assist Mayushi’s family through these difficult times.”
Anyone with information about Bhagat, her whereabouts, or her disappearance, is asked to call the FBI Newark at 973-792-3000, or the Jersey City Police Department at 855-JCP-TIPS (527-8477).