Fugitive software engineer wanted for Hyd techie murder in US held in Agra

Fugitive software engineer wanted for Hyd techie murder in US held in Agra

Sharma was nabbed from Agra on Aug 24 by a Telangana police team. According to an FIR registered at Lalaguda police station in Secunderabad on a complaint by Nikitha’s father, Anand Godishala, Sharma allegedly stabbed the 27-year-old victim to death. The police complaint said Nikitha and Sharma met while pursuing master’s degrees in the US and lived with friends in Maryland between 2022 and 2024. Sharma lost his job around Aug–Sept 2025, and he and his mother allegedly borrowed money from Nikitha and her family. On Dec 31, Sharma allegedly persuaded Nikitha to visit his apartment on the pretext of repaying USD 4,000. He then allegedly killed her, filed a misleading missing-person report with US police on Jan 1, and siphoned USD 4,000 to USD 5,000 from her credit card before fleeing to India on Jan 2. US police discovered Nikitha’s body in his apartment on Jan 3.

He was hiding at Shankar Green Residential Society in the Ekta police station area. The Telangana police action followed an Interpol Red Corner Notice and an extradition request from US authorities. The case against Sharma and his mother has been registered under BNS sections for criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust, cheating and destruction of evidence. After completing their studies, Nikitha and Sharma started working in Maryland.

“We were trying to track him down after the victim’s family registered a cheating case in April 2026.

The Delhi court ordered that 27-year-old Sharma, a native of Chennai, be taken into custody, noting that the charges against him meet the criteria for extradition under the India-US Extradition Treaty. Agra/Hyderabad: A fugitive software engineer, Arjun Sharma , wanted by US authorities for allegedly murdering his former girlfriend, Nikitha Godishala, in Maryland over a monetary dispute, was nabbed from Agra, where he was hiding in an apartment. Proceedings on the US extradition request and the supporting evidence are underway.

He was produced before the court of additional chief metropolitan magistrate, Animesh Bhaskar Mani Tripathi, at Patiala House in Delhi on Thursday.

Following the US investigation, American authorities charged Sharma with murder and assault, leading to the issuance of an Interpol Red Corner Notice against him.