Nikitha Godishala murder: Father Anand blames Arjun Sharma; denies he was her ex-boyfriend in US

Hyderabad: Breaking his silence over the murder of 27-year-old Hyderabad woman Nikitha Godishala in Columbia, Maryland, her father, Anand Godishala, accused Arjuna Sharma of killing his daughter over a monetary dispute.

He dismissed reports that Sharma was deceased's former boyfriend. Godishala said Sharma was her former roommate.

Nikitha was killed in Howard County in Columbia, Maryland, on New Year's Eve, and cops believe Arjun Sharma stabbed her, reported her missing, and then fled to India. Reports say that Arjun Sharma was arrested by the Interpol in Tamil Nadu on Monday. However, a confirmation is yet to be given by the officials.

Speaking to the media, Anand denied conflicting reports about her daughter's death. "The 26-year-old suspect was not my daughter's ex-boyfriend but was her roommate earlier, along with two others. My daughter went to Columbia four years ago."

According to investigators, Sharma filed a missing-person report on January 2, claiming he had last seen Nikitha on New Year’s Eve at his apartment. However, police said he left the United States for India later the same day. On January 3, detectives executed a search warrant at his apartment, where they found Godishala’s body bearing visible stab wounds. Investigators believe the killing occurred after 7 pm on December 31.

“There was obviously some premeditation to be able to do this and then to flee the country, so that’s what we have right now as far as charges,” Howard County Police spokesperson Seth Hoffman said.

Nikitha Godishala was a resident of Ellicott City, Howard County, and worked as a healthcare professional with expertise in data analytics.

According to her father, the motive behind her killing was financial and not any dispute in a romantic relationship. He asked the media to avoid writing unnecessary rumours about her daughter.

"Four people used to stay in an apartment. The accused used to take a lot of money from my daughter. When she asked him to return the money, he killed her and ran away," said Anand.

He requested that the state and the central government hand over the body of my daughter as soon as possible.

In a post, Nikitha Godishala's sister has alleged that the accused carried out unauthorised financial transactions amounting to about USD 3,500 approximately Rs 3.16 lakh) from the deceased's bank account before fleeing the country after her death.