Missing Woman Found Dead In Mizoram Hotel's Elevator Shaft

A 30-year-old woman was found dead at a hotel in Aizawl six days after she went missing, police said on Wednesday.

Police said they suspect the woman, a resident of south Mizoram's Lunglei town, fell into the elevator shaft of the hotel from a malfunctioning elevator door.

Her family, however, alleged that she was murdered.

The woman went missing from Lushai Hills Residency hotel in the city's Zarkawt area on April 14, Deputy Inspector General of Police (Headquarters) Lalbiakthanga Khiangte told PTI.

She arrived in Aizawl along with her boyfriend on April 13 to appear for a competitive examination and they were staying at the hotel, he said.

After her boyfriend lodged a missing complaint with the police, an investigation was started and the decomposed body of the woman was found at the base of the elevator shaft on Tuesday evening, the officer said.

As per preliminary inquiry, it is suspected that the woman fell into the shaft from a malfunctioning elevator door at the hotel lobby. The door was supposed to be shut when the elevator was not at that floor, he said.

The couple drank in their hotel room on the night of April 13. After the boyfriend went to sleep around 10 pm, she drank more liquor, the police officer said.

After thoroughly examining the CCTV footage, it is believed that the woman never left the hotel, he said. The boyfriend, 38, is now in police custody for further interrogation, he said. However, the woman's family alleged that she was murdered.

The woman, the eldest of four siblings, was in a relationship with the man for the last seven years, and both loved each other passionately, the family said.

The woman proposed marriage to him several times but his family refused, they alleged.

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