Bengaluru apartment murder: 'Lover' kills woman, spends a day smoking next to corpse

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A 19-year-old woman from Assam was found murdered in a service apartment in Bengaluru's Indiranagar locality on November 26.

The deceased, identified as Maya Gogoi, was allegedly stabbed to death by a her male friend Aarav Hanoy who is currently on the run, police said. When the body was found earlier today by Indiranagar police, it was in a partially decomposed state.

There were multiple injury marks on the woman's body, including her chest, which was allegedly caused by a stabbing with a knife. She also sustained a head injury, police said.

Police suspect that Aarav killed Maya on November 24, a day after both were seen arriving at the apartment. However, the exact time of death will only be confirmed after the post-mortem report. No other person was seen entering the apartment between November 23 and 26.

The suspect allegedly remained in the apartment for a day after murdering the woman, preliminary investigation suggests. He reportedly also smoked a cigarette next to the woman's body. According to several reports, the suspect - who hails from Kerala - was Maya's lover.

"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. After leaving the service apartment, Hanoy went to a nearby area and switched off his mobile phone," a senior police officer said based on initial investigation.

The suspect had in his possession an old knife, which cops believe was used to stab Maya.
"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.

The police have recovered the cover of rope from the crime scene. "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," the cop added.

Since Aarav did not flee the crime scene immediately after the murder, cops are exploring whether he was considering dismembering the body and disposing of the parts elsewhere.

While the suspect was working at Lips caller overseas in HSR layout as a student councillor, Maya worked at a private firm in Jayanagar. The deceased, who used to live at an apartment in Whitefield with her sister, was also a vlogger.

While the motive behind the murder is yet to be determined, authorities suspect personal disputes may have led to horrific crime. A case of murder has been registered, police said, adding teams have been formed to nab the suspect.

-With agency inputs