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New Delhi: The man who is suspected of killing Indian national Nikitha Godishala in the US was her ex-roommate, and that he allegedly stabbed her to death over a monetary dispute, the woman's father claimed. He also ruled out any romantic relationship discord between his daughter and the suspect.
The 27-year-old woman, who was originally from Hyderabad, was found dead with stab wounds at an apartment in Howard County in Columbia, Maryland, on New Year's Eve. Nikitha moved to Columbia four years ago and was a data analyst based in Maryland. The police suspect her former boyfriend, Arjun Sharma of the murder. Sharma was the one who filed a missing persons complaint for her and then fled to India, according to officials. Nikitha was reported missing on January 2.
Suspect was an ex-roommate
Anand Godishala, the father of the Telugu woman, claimed that the 26-year-old suspect was his daughter's roommate earlier along with two others.
"My daughter went to Columbia four years ago. She was working there. He was her ex-roommate. It is not right that he was her ex-boyfriend," he said, according to news agency PTI.
Murder over money
The woman's father alleged that the suspect killed his daughter over a financial dispute and said that any dispute in a romantic relationship could not be attributed to the murder. He said that his daughter used to share an apartment with three other people, including the suspect.
"Her ex-roommate used to take a lot of money from my daughter. When she asked him to return the money before he flew to India, he killed her and ran away. I request the state and the central government to hand over the body of my daughter as soon as possible," Anand added.
He said his daughter came to know that Sharma had borrowed money from several people and was planning to flee to India.
Nikitha's cousin, Saraswati Godishala, also made a similar claim in a complaint filed with the Indian Embassy in the US. The suspect allegedly borrowed USD 4,500 (nearly Rs 4 lakh) and had returned USD 3,500, but again requested USD 1,000, which was denied.
