Bengaluru cops arrest Kerala man for murder of Assamese woman

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru

Three days after the murder of an Assamese woman in a service apartment in Indiranagar here, police arrested the 21-yearold accused on Friday in Devanahalli, located on the city's outskirts. Preliminary investigations suggest that a personal disagreement between the two led the accused to take such an extreme step, said D Devaraja, Deputy Commissioner of Police (East). Maya Gogoi (19) was allegedly stabbed to death by her male friend, Aarav Hanoy, who hails from Kannur, Kerala, he added. According to the police, Gogoi was found murdered in the service apartment on Tuesday, with her body partially decomposed. CCTV footage from the apartment showed that the woman and the suspect arrived there on November 23.

After allegedly killing her, he fled. "After a detailed analysis of the crime scene and technical evidence, we discovered CCTV footage that shows the suspect leaving the service apartment on Tuesday morning. To track him down, we formed three teams: one was sent to Kerala, another to North Karnataka, where the suspect had been moving, and the third focused on gathering technical information," the official said. "After two days of investigation, we learnt that the accused travelled from Raichur to Madhya Pradesh, then to Uttar Pradesh. Later, he made his way back to Karnataka, arriving at 4 pm today. We picked him from a place in Devanahalli and we are interrogating him," he added. Preliminary investigations suggest that the accused was working as an intern at a private firm, earning a monthly salary of Rs 15,000. According to the official, he had met the victim six months ago on the dating app Bumble, and the two became friends. "On November 23, the two checked into the service apartment," the official added. "A personal dispute escalated into a fight, during which the accused ordered a knife through Zepto. Earlier, it was suspected that he had come prepared with a plan to murder her but later, during further investigation, it was revealed that he had ordered for knife and a rope online," the officer said.

The woman was killed on November 24, a day after they checked into the service apartment. "She sustained multiple injuries, including wounds to her head, shoulder, and other parts of her body. The fatal blow was a knife wound to her chest, which ultimately caused her death," the police officer stated. Both entered the lodge (service apartment) on November 23 at 12.28 pm. The suspect left the lodge on Tuesday, November 26, at 8.19 am, the DCP said, adding, "After leaving the apartment, Hanoy went to a nearby area and turned off his mobile phone." "Initial findings suggest that the motive was a personal dispute, though it is unclear whether it was related to marriage or something else. We will gather more information after examining the accused's laptop and phone. Further investigation is ongoing to determine the exact cause of the murder," DCP said.

The accused was raised by his grandparents after both of his parents divorced and remarried. Police are investigating to ascertain if the accused was battling depression. The incident came to light on Tuesday when the apartment staff alerted the police about a foul odour coming from the room. A team of police officers, along with forensic experts, arrived at the spot. According to investigations, a senior police officer confirmed that a case has been registered under sections 103 (murder) and 238 (causing disappearance of evidence) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).