A woman was found dead in US flat. 8 months later, ‘ex-boyfriend’ nabbed in Agra

On January 2, Arjun Sharma filed a report with the police in Maryland City, US, claiming that his ex-girlfriend had been missing since New Year's eve. The next day, police found the body of 27-year-old Nikitha Rao Godishala, who was from Secunderabad, inside Sharma’s apartment.

By then, the 26-year-old had fled the US, authorities said. Her father reached out to Union Minister G Kishan Reddy to urge the Ministry of External Affairs to speak with US authorities to issue a Red Corner notice for the arrest of Sharma.

“It is known that he fled to India and is hiding somewhere…” he said. Almost eight months later, Sharma was arrested from a flat in Agra after a tip-off from officials of the Lalaguda Police Station in Hyderabad. “A non-bailable warrant was issued against him after the murdered woman's father Anand Ghodishala filed a cheating case with us.

We took the help of CID and CBI to know more about what happened in the US but we have no connection with that murder case. But based on the complaint by the woman's father that Sharma had cheated the woman after taking a large amount of money and refusing to return it, we registered our own FIR,” said Inspector B Ravi Kiran.

“Based on the cheating case prepared against Sharma, a non-bailable warrant (NBW) was issued, which ensured that we kept looking for him. We were searching for his whereabouts after coming to know that he had fled to India from the US after the murder.

We traced him to a flat in Agra and informed the relevant authorities,” said Inspector Kiran. Sharma has been produced before the Patiala House Court in New Delhi, which deals with extradition cases, police said. “Now it is up to the central authorities to take further action,” said the inspector.

The US, meanwhile, has requested Sharma's return under the India-US Extradition Treaty. Godishala lived in Ellicott City, Maryland, where she worked as a data analyst. She had previously completed a pharmacy course from Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University in Hyderabad before moving to the US for a Master’s in Health Information Technology from the University of Maryland.

In a press release issued on January 4, Howard County police said that its personnel located a woman, who was reported missing on January 2, deceased with stab wounds in the apartment of her ex-boyfriend and obtained a warrant for his arrest on first- and second-degree murder charges.

“Sharma made the missing person report to police and said he last saw his ex-girlfriend on December 31 in his apartment. Police later learned that on the same day as making the report, Sharma left the country on a flight to India… detectives believe Sharma killed Godishala shortly after 7 pm on December 31,” the release stated.

Meanwhile, as against the US police's claim, Godishala's father had said the accused was not her ex-boyfriend, but her “ex-flatmate” and that the two had had financial disagreements. Anand Godishala had told The Indian Express that Nikitha had gone to the US in 2021.

“She had gone for higher studies and had started working there (in the US). It is not right to call the accused her ex-boyfriend. He is her ex-flatmate. Four of them used to live in that apartment. After she started working two years ago, she moved to a separate flat.

I believe that there was some financial disagreement with the accused,” he had said. Sreenivas Janyala is a Deputy Associate Editor at The Indian Express, where he serves as one of the most authoritative voices on the socio-political and economic landscape of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.

With a career spanning over two decades in mainstream journalism, he provides deep-dive analysis and frontline reporting on the intricate dynamics of South Indian governance. Expertise and Experience Regional Specialization: Based in Hyderabad, Sreenivas has spent more than 20 years documenting the evolution of the Telugu-speaking states.

His reporting was foundational during the historic Telangana statehood movement and continues to track the post-bifurcation development of both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. Key Coverage Beats: His extensive portfolio covers a vast spectrum of critical issues: High-Stakes Politics: Comprehensive tracking of regional powerhouses (BRS, TDP, YSRCP, and Congress), electoral shifts, and the political careers of figures like K.

Chandrashekar Rao, Chandrababu Naidu, and Jagan Mohan Reddy. Internal Security & Conflict: Authoritative reporting on Left-Wing Extremism (LWE), the decline of the Maoist movement in former hotbeds, and intelligence-led investigations into regional security modules.

Governance & Infrastructure: Detailed analysis of massive irrigation projects (like Kaleshwaram and Polavaram), capital city developments (Amaravati), and the implementation of state welfare schemes. Crisis & Health Reporting: Led the publication's ground-level coverage of the Covid-19 pandemic in South India and major industrial incidents, such as the Vizag gas leak.

Analytical Depth: Beyond daily news, Sreenivas is known for his "Explained" pieces that demystify complex regional disputes, such as river water sharing and judicial allocations between the sister states. ... Read More