Police in Maryland are working with federal law enforcement agencies to locate and arrest the ex-boyfriend of an Indian woman who was reported missing on Jan. 2 and later, was found dead inside an apartment in Columbia, Maryland.
Howard County Police said Arjun Sharma, 26, who police identified as 27-year-old Nikitha Godishala’s ex-boyfriend, left the country on a flight to India on the same day he reported Godishala missing.
Godishala, of Ellicott City, was found dead with stab wounds inside Sharma’s apartment, and investigators have obtained an arrest warrant charging him with first- and second-degree murder.
According to investigators, Godishala was probably killed shortly after 7 p.m. on Dec. 31.
The Howard County police officials said Sharma made the missing person report to police saying he last saw Godishala, on Dec. 31 in his apartment in the 10100 block of Twin Rivers Road.
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Police later learned that on the same day as making the report, Jan. 2, Sharma left the country on a flight to India.
Detectives on Jan. 3 executed a search warrant for his apartment and located Godishala deceased. While investigation remains ongoing, police suspect that Sharma killed Godishala.
Police have not released a possible motive or said how Godishala and Sharma’s interactions unfolded before her death.
Meanwhile, the Indian Embassy in Washington, D.C., stated that it is in contact with the family of Godishala and is extending all possible consular assistance. “The Embassy is also following up the matter with the local authorities,” it stated.
“The Embassy is in contact with the family of Ms. Nikitha Godishala and is extending all possible consular assistance,” it said in a post on X. “The Embassy is also following up the matter with the local authorities.”