Indian who fled US after murdering Telugu ex-girlfriend arrested in Tamil Nadu

The international manhunt by Interpol for the killer of a Telugu woman ended in Tamil Nadu after the accused, Arjun Sharma, was arrested on charges of murdering Nikita Godishala in the United States and fleeing to India soon after the crime, sources said.

Nikitha Rao Godishala, 27, an Indian-American data analyst based in Maryland, was reported missing on January 2 after Arjun Sharma, her former boyfriend, approached the Howard County Police claiming he had last seen her on New Year’s Eve.

The claim soon raised red flags. Police confirmed that Sharma, 26, had left the United States for India on the same day he filed the missing complaint. He was arrested on Monday, and further details about the arrest are yet to be confirmed.

A search warrant was subsequently obtained for Sharma’s apartment on



Twin Rivers Road in Columbia, Maryland. On January 3, investigators found Godishala’s body inside the apartment.

Police said she had suffered multiple stab wounds, pointing to a violent attack. The case was reclassified as a homicide, with investigators suspecting a domestic crime.

Howard County Police later secured arrest warrants against Sharma on charges of first-degree and second-degree murder. The motive behind the killing is still under investigation.

Godishala was working as a Data and Strategy Analyst at Vheda Health since February 2025. She had recently received the company’s “All-In Award”, according to sources close to the family.

She was based in Ellicott City, Maryland, and was reported to be living independently at the time of her death.