37-yr-old woman from Uzbekistan found dead in Bengaluru hotel, Police suspects foul play: Report

Police officials said they suspect she might have been murdered by way of smothering.

In a horrifying development, a 37-year-old woman from Uzbekistan was found dead at a hotel in Karnataka capital Bengaluru on Wednesday. She had set foot in the tech hub four days ago on a tourist visa. Police officials investigating the case told media that they suspected she might have been murdered by way of smothering.

The victim, identified as Zareena, had set foot in Bengaluru four days ago on a tourist visa. (HT File Photo)

The incident occurred in the Seshadripuram area of the city, according to a report by NDTV. The deceased has been identified as Zareena, who was staying at the Jagadish Hotel.

The death first came to be known to the hotel staff on Wednesday afternoon, when they unlocked her room and found her lying dead inside. They used the master key to unlock the door at around 4:30pm when they received no response from her side after knocking, the publication said.

The hotel management then filed a complaint with the local police, who registered a case of “mysterious death”. Initial probe has revealed that this could be a case of murder, police officials told the publication.

The Uzbekistan national's mortal remains have been sent to the Bowring Hospital in Shivaji Nagar, where a post mortem will be conducted to assess the exact cause and time of death. Authorities also said they believed Zareena could have been smothered to death.

The hotel room in question has been searched thoroughly by the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) team and a canine squad for any leads in the mystery case. Cops are also combing through CCTV footages and the hotel register to ascertain if the victim had any visitors on Wednesday.

More details are awaited as further investigation is in progress.