Bengaluru, Nov 26 (PTI) A 19-year-old woman from Assam was found murdered in a service apartment in Indiranagar locality on Tuesday, police said.
Maya Gogoi was allegedly stabbed to death by a male friend, Aarav Hanoy, (21), who hails from Kannur in Kerala. He is at large, they said.
Police said the suspect was working at Lips caller overseas in HSR layout here as a student councillor and Gogoi, a YouTube content creator, was working at a private firm in Jayanagar.
The suspect was also at the service apartment for the last three days with the woman, police said, adding that her body was partially decomposed.
CCTV footage of the apartment showed that the woman and the suspect arriving at the apartment on November 23. After killing her, he allegedly fled.
Police were informed by the service apartment staff about a foul smell emanating from the room after which a police team reached the spot along with forensic team.
According to police, there were multiple injury marks on her body, including her chest, which was allegedly caused by a stabbing with a knife. She also sustained a head injury.
Citing preliminary investigation, a senior police officer said, "Both of them entered the lodge (service apartment) on November 23 at 12:28 pm. The suspect went out of the lodge today at 8:19 am," he said.
After leaving the service apartment at 8.30 am today, Hanoy went to a nearby area and switched off his mobile phone, he said.
"During the investigation, we got to know that the suspect had an old knife with him which he allegedly used to stab her. He had also ordered a two-meter long nylon rope online from Zepto app and took its delivery in the room itself," he said.
"At the crime scene, police recovered the cover of rope which was ordered online. Investigators suspect that he had brought the knife with him when they checked into the room. He ordered the nylon rope while staying there, which shows that he had planned the murder. We will be able to get the rest of the information after his arrest," he added.
The exact date when he possibly killed her can be ascertained only after police gets the post-mortem report which is awaited. After killing her, Hanoy remained in the room with the body, which was found to be partially decomposed today, the officer said.
Police said the woman who joined the private firm in Jayanagar just about 20 days ago had come to Bengaluru six months ago. Since then, she had been living with her sister and a friend at an apartment in Whitefield area.
Her sister told investigators that Gogoi and the suspect shared a friendly relationship.
A case under section 103 for murder and 238 for causing disappearance of evidence of offence has been registered under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, police said, adding teams have been formed to nab the suspect.