An Indian man wanted in connection with the murder of 27-year-old Nikitha Godishala in the United States has been taken into custody in India, nearly eight months after the killing.
Arjun Sharma, 26, who is accused of killing Godishala in Maryland on New Year’s Eve, was tracked down to a flat in Agra by Hyderabad police while they were investigating a cheating case filed on the basis of a complaint by the victim’s father, Anand Godishala.
Nikitha, a resident of Ellicott City in the US, was reported missing on January 2. Howard County police later said she was found dead with multiple stab wounds in the Columbia, Maryland, apartment of Sharma, who had been her roommate.
The Howard County Police Department said it had been informed by international authorities that Sharma was in custody in India and is expected to be extradited to the United States. However, there is no clear timeline yet for his return.
US police described Sharma as Nikitha’s ex-boyfriend, while her father maintained that the two were roommates and said he believed the killing may have been linked to financial disputes.
Authorities in the US had already obtained a warrant against Sharma on first- and second-degree murder charges, alleging that he killed Nikitha and then fled to India.
Nikitha’s family was officially informed on January 4 that she had suffered multiple stab wounds and that investigators believed she was killed on December 31, 2025.
Meanwhile, a cheating case was registered against Sharma in Telangana in April after Nikitha’s father alleged that he had taken money from her and failed to return it.
During the investigation, Hyderabad police reportedly obtained clues about Sharma’s whereabouts and sent a team to Agra, where he was traced to a flat.
A police official said Sharma was served a notice in connection with the cheating case. Since a murder case had already been registered against him in the US and a non-bailable warrant was pending, central agencies were informed.
Sharma was later produced before the Patiala House Court in New Delhi, which remanded him on August 25 in connection with the murder case.
Nikitha had been living in the US for about four years and was working as a data and strategy analyst. Her family, based in Hyderabad, welcomed Sharma’s detention as a major breakthrough in the case.
According to her parents, Sharma lost his job around August or September 2025 and later borrowed money from Nikitha and her family. They have alleged that financial disputes over money owed to Nikitha existed before her death and that Sharma also had financial dealings with others in the United States.
With Sharma now in custody in India, the focus is expected to shift to the extradition process and the next steps in the US murder case.
