E-Paper
‘All procedures complete’: Minister shares update on repatriation of Nikitha Godishala's mortal remains to India
Nikitha Godishala was found dead in the apartment of Arjun Sharma in the US, who, according to her family had been her roommate in the past.
Dead body of the Indian woman, Nikitha Godishala, who was allegedly killed in the US will be reach India by Wednesday or Thursday, union coal minister G Kishan Reddy has said.
Sharing the update on X (formerly Twitter), Reddy said all the required procedures have been completed as he posted a letter from the Indian Embassy in Washington, on the completion of formalities pertaining to the case. Following a request from Nikitha's family, Kishan Reddy had reached out to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar to facilitate the repatriation of her remains to India.
Who was Nikitha Godishala and why was she murdered?
Nikitha, 27, had been reported missing since New Year's Eve, was found dead with stab wounds in the apartment of her ex-boyfriend Arjun Sharma in Columbia, Maryland, HT reported earlier, citing Howard County police.
However, her family later clarified the two had been roommates in the past and were not romantically involved. Her Anand Godishala said in an interview with The Indian Express that Sharma was her former flatmate rather than a romantic partner. The two, according to her family, were involved in financial disputes.
According to police, Sharma reported Nikitha's missing on December 31, 2025 in his apartment in the 10100 block of Twin Rivers Road. "Police later learned that on the same day as making the report, January 2, Sharma left the country on a flight to India. Detectives on January 3 executed a search warrant for his apartment and located Godishala deceased,” the police statement read.
Anand also told news agency ANI that Sharma had borrowed money from his daughter and when she asked him to return the amount before his departure to India, he killed her. The victim's father has called for “tough punishment” and has urged both Indian and US authorities to expedite the process of repatriating his daughter's remains as soon as possible.
Sharma was apprehended in Tamil Nadu on Monday after an international manhunt. According to the Howard County police, detectives suspect that Sharma is responsible for the murder of Nikitha and have obtained a warrant for his arrest on charges of both first- and second-degree murder.
