Are bomb suspects Sunil Tripathi and Mike Mulugeta?

THERE is speculation the Boston marathon bombing suspect being sought by police may be Sunil Tripathi, an Indian philosophy student studying at an Ivy League college who disappeared without a trace on 16 March.

The unconfirmed reports – which appear to have originated from a conversation overheard on a police scanner – suggest the bombing suspect seen wearing a white baseball cap in photographs released by police may be 22-year-old Tripathi, The Times reports. He was last seen at 1.30am near the campus of Brown University, a prestigious institution in Providence, Rhode Island. Family and police feared that his disappearance was a suicide.

Tripathi has been described as a “left-wing Marxist of Indian Brahmin descent”, whose father is a successful software developer. His family set up a Twitter account and a Facebook page last month to help the search for him.

Authorities have warned that the so-called “white hat” suspect should be considered armed and dangerous, NBC reports.

It has been suggested the name of the second suspect – who is believed to have died of gunshot wounds following a shoot-out with police – is Mike Mulugeta. At this stage, authorities have not confirmed the names of the suspects.

The Brown Political Review says the FBI pictures “bear a possible resemblance to Tripathi”. The website adds that if Tripathi is the man who has been linked to the bombings, it “would be a jarring and surreal ending” to concerted efforts by the university and its students to locate him since his disappearance.

Shortly before Tripathi’s disappearance explosives were found near Brown University. They were destroyed in a controlled detonation and police have yet to implicate anyone in the bomb scare. ·