A 27-year-old woman from Hyderabad, Nikitha Godishala, who was working in Columbia in the US state of Maryland, was found murdered in the apartment of an Indian national who is believed to have fled to India.
Howard County Police said the suspect, identified as 26-year-old Arjun Sharma, is wanted on charges of first- and second-degree murder.
Nikitha’s body was found on January 3 at an apartment in the 10100 block of Twin Rivers Road in Columbia during a search of Sharma’s residence. Police said Sharma had reported Nikitha missing a day earlier, on January 2. According to her cousin, Saraswati, Nikitha, who lived in nearby Ellicott City, had visited Sharma’s apartment on December 31 to collect money he had borrowed from her.
Saraswati claimed Nikitha had initially sent Sharma $4,500, of which he had returned $3,500. When he requested an additional $1,000, she refused and asked him to return the outstanding amount from the earlier loan, she said. Sharma assured her he would pay, prompting Nikitha to visit him at his apartment where she was murdered.
Howard County police confirmed on Jan 4 that Nikitha's body bore stab wounds.
Speaking to the media in Secunderabad, Nikitha's father, Anand Godishala, clarified reports labelling Sharma as her ex-boyfriend. "The alleged culprit is not her ex-boyfriend. Please do not report it like that. He was one of the four housemates in the flat where she stayed and moved away. Nikitha lent him money and when she asked for the money back, he called her to his house and committed the crime," he alleged.
The Indian embassy in the US confirmed that it was in touch with Nikitha's family and was providing all possible consular assistance, while also following up with local authorities.
Nikitha had completed her master's in health information technology at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, in 2022-23, and had been working with Vheda Health as a data and strategy analyst since Feb 2025. Prior to moving to the US, she worked as a clinical data analyst at a corporate hospital in Hyderabad.
Howard County Police said the suspect, identified as 26-year-old Arjun Sharma, is wanted on charges of first- and second-degree murder.
Nikitha’s body was found on January 3 at an apartment in the 10100 block of Twin Rivers Road in Columbia during a search of Sharma’s residence. Police said Sharma had reported Nikitha missing a day earlier, on January 2. According to her cousin, Saraswati, Nikitha, who lived in nearby Ellicott City, had visited Sharma’s apartment on December 31 to collect money he had borrowed from her.
Saraswati claimed Nikitha had initially sent Sharma $4,500, of which he had returned $3,500. When he requested an additional $1,000, she refused and asked him to return the outstanding amount from the earlier loan, she said. Sharma assured her he would pay, prompting Nikitha to visit him at his apartment where she was murdered.
Howard County police confirmed on Jan 4 that Nikitha's body bore stab wounds.
Speaking to the media in Secunderabad, Nikitha's father, Anand Godishala, clarified reports labelling Sharma as her ex-boyfriend. "The alleged culprit is not her ex-boyfriend. Please do not report it like that. He was one of the four housemates in the flat where she stayed and moved away. Nikitha lent him money and when she asked for the money back, he called her to his house and committed the crime," he alleged.
The Indian embassy in the US confirmed that it was in touch with Nikitha's family and was providing all possible consular assistance, while also following up with local authorities.
Nikitha had completed her master's in health information technology at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, in 2022-23, and had been working with Vheda Health as a data and strategy analyst since Feb 2025. Prior to moving to the US, she worked as a clinical data analyst at a corporate hospital in Hyderabad.
