A 19-year-old woman from Assam was seen smiling as she entered the lobby of a service apartment in Bengaluru with her boyfriend On Saturday. Three days later, police recovered her body from the same apartment. Her boyfriend, who allegedly planned the murder before booking the stay, is now the main suspect in the case.
The decomposed body of Maya Gogoi was found in the service apartment that she booked with her boyfriend Aarav Harni. The CCTV footage showed them entering the property around 12.30 pm on November 23 and Harni leaving alone at 8.30 am on Tuesday.
As per the police, Harni stabbed Gogoi to death on Monday with a knife that he allegedly brought with him and stayed with the body for an entire day before walking out of the rented apartment in the Indiranagar area on Tuesday. Photos showed blood on a blanket and pillows in the room. A yellow nylon rope, that Harni allegedly ordered from a quick commerce site, is also seen on the floor.
"The documents found in the room revealed that the name of the victim is Maya Gogoi and her age is 19 years. There are many wounds on her body, the most fatal injury is the one stab wound on her chest. There are injuries on her head as well," said Devraj, Deputy Commissioner of Police, East Division Bengaluru.
The police said the suspect is from Kerala and that he switched off his phone after leaving the apartment.
CCTV footage did not show any other person entering the service apartment between November 23 and 26.
Planned Murder?
During the investigation, the police found out that he had ordered a two-meter nylon rope from the quick commerce site Zepto. "The rope was delivered to their room. We have also recovered its cover from the room," said Mr Devraj.
The police suspect that he brought the knife with him. "It seems that he had brought a knife with him and got the nylon rope here, which indicates that he had planned the murder. We will be able to get the rest of the information after his arrest," they said.
The body was discovered after the police got a call about a foul smell coming from a room in the service apartment. Soon after, the police rushed to the spot along with the dog squad and forensic experts.
Maya Gogoi worked as a counsellor at a private firm in HSR Layout.
As Harni stayed with the body for a day, the police are also probing whether Aarav Harni had plans to cut the body into pieces and dump them elsewhere.
The police have registered a case of murder and looking for the suspect on the complaint of Gogoi's sister.
