US killing: No trace of murder accused in Hyderabad woman Nikitha Godishala case yet; trail runs cold

HYDERABAD: More than a month after 27-year-old Hyderabad woman, Nikitha Godishala, was allegedly murdered in the United States, investigators are yet to trace the prime accused, Arjun Sharma, raising questions over delays in cross-border coordination and leaving the case at a standstill. Nikitha, a resident of Tarnaka, was allegedly killed at the Columbia, Maryland apartment of Sharma, who was known to her. According to Howard county police, Sharma reported her missing on Jan 2 and left the US the same day. "Detectives on Jan 3 executed a search warrant for his apartment and located Nikhita deceased. Detectives believe Sharma killed Nikitha on Dec 31, the day he claimed he last saw her. The investigation is ongoing and no motive is known at this time. Howard county police are working to locate and arrest Sharma," the Howard county police said. By the time Nikitha's body was recovered from Sharma's residence, he had fled the country. A police officer at Chennai airport told TOI that Sharma arrived from the US and cleared immigration without any restriction. "He left as a routine passenger after completing immigration formalities, as he was not declared a suspect at that point," the officer said. Since then, Sharma has remained absconding. Officials confirmed that neither Interpol nor the CBI has approached state police to trace him. "No complaint or case was pending against Sharma in Tamil Nadu," an official said. No case has been registered in Hyderabad either. Officials at Lalaguda police station said Nikitha's family did not file a local complaint. "We approached the family to check if they wanted to lodge a case. But, they declined," an official said. In the absence of official leads, Nikitha's family launched a social media campaign urging authorities to intensify efforts to trace Sharma, but the initiative has so far yielded no breakthrough. When TOI reached out to the family, they refrained from commenting. With no confirmed trail, no case in India, and no clarity on international coordination, a question remains unanswered: Where is Sharma? Telangana BJP president N Ramchander Rao said representations have been made to multiple authorities, but clarity remains elusive. "We wrote to the Indian embassy as well as the ministry of external affairs. There is no information on Sharma's location," he said.