Four months after a 27-year-old Indian woman, Nikitha Rao Godishala was found dead in Maryland, U.S., the man wanted in connection with her killing has been arrested in Agra, Uttar Pradesh.
Arjun Sharma was arrested from an apartment in Agra after Hyderabad police traced his location, with the help of other agencies. He was taken to Delhi for a court appearance and the process of extradition to the United States began.
The case dates back to December 2025, when Nikitha was found dead in Sharma’s apartment in Maryland. U.S. authorities had accused Sharma of killing her and fleeing to India soon after.
The latest arrest has brought a huge step forward, and many of the questions about the killing and the events leading up to it have yet to be resolved.
Who was Nikitha Godishala?
Nikitha Rao Godishala, a 27-year-old woman from Secunderabad, Hyderabad, moved to the United States in 2021 for higher studies and later got work there.
She had completed a pharmacy course from Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University in Hyderabad before pursuing a master’s degree in Health Information Technology at the University of Maryland.
Nikitha later worked as a data analyst in Maryland. She was living in Ellicott City and had been building her career in the US.
Her family was informed about her death after US authorities found her body in January 2026.
How was Nikitha found dead?
The case came to light after Sharma contacted the police on January 2, 2026, and reported Nikitha missing.
According to Howard County police, Sharma told investigators that he had last seen Nikitha on New Year’s Eve at his apartment.
Police found Nikitha's body inside the apartment on January 3. She had suffered stab wounds.
The U.S. investigators said they believed Nikitha had been killed shortly after 7 p.m. on December 31, 2025. A warrant against Sharma was then obtained for first- and second-degree murder.
However, Sharma had already left the United States.
The investigators later discovered that he had traveled to India after filing the missing-person report. This led to an international search for him.
Sharma Was Traced To India
After the killing, Sharma returned to India and managed to remain out of reach of US authorities for several months.
Nikitha’s father had earlier approached Union Minister G Kishan Reddy and sought help from the Ministry of External Affairs in bringing Sharma back to face the investigation.
A Red Corner Notice was also issued against Sharma as authorities continued looking for him.
Interestingly, the final breakthrough came from the cheating case registered in Hyderabad.
Nikitha's father had filed a complaint that Sharma had taken a large amount of money from her and had not returned it. Hyderabad police filed a separate case on that complaint.
A non-bailable warrant was issued against Sharma in connection with the cheating case.
During the search for him, Hyderabad police discovered that he fled to India after the US murder. Lalaguda police and other agencies led them to an apartment in Agra.
Accused Was Hiding In An Agra Apartment
Sharma was arrested from an apartment in Agra on August 24, official sources said.
He had been staying in a flat in Shankar Green Apartment in the city. The arrest was conducted with the cooperation of the CBI, Telangana police and local Agra authorities.
Sharma was taken to Delhi after his arrest and taken before Patiala House Court, which deals with extradition matters.
The Delhi court ordered that he be taken into custody and noted that the charges against him are in line to warrant extradition under the India-US Extradition Treaty. The U.S. wants him back to face the murder case there.
The extradition process is in progress.
Was Sharma really Nikitha's ex-boyfriend?
There is an important difference between how the US authorities and Nikitha’s family have described Sharma.
The U.S. police referred to Sharma as Nikitha's ex-boyfriend in their investigation and arrest warrant.
But Nikitha's father has rejected that description.
He said Sharma was actually her former flatmate, not her former boyfriend. Four people had previously lived in the apartment, her dad said, and Nikitha moved to another flat after she started working.
Her father also said he believed a financial dispute between Nikitha and Sharma could have played a role in the case.
The exact nature of their relationship and the circumstances of the alleged killing will therefore play a very big role in the investigation.
What shall happen next?
Sharma’s arrest in Agra does not mean the US murder case has been completed.
The next step is the extradition process. US authorities have asked for his return under the India-US Extradition Treaty, and Indian authorities will now deal with the legal procedures required for that process.
The case will also require the examination of evidence collected by US investigators.
The authorities will have to establish what happened inside Sharma’s apartment on December 31, how Nikitha was killed, and what Sharma did after the incident.
The fact that he supposedly left the US soon after the incident is already a major part of the case, but the prosecution will ultimately need to establish the allegations through evidence and legal proceedings.
The arrest is great news for Nikitha’s family after many months of uncertainty.
Her father had spent months looking for help to locate Sharma and bring him before the authorities. The arrest in Agra has brought the case forward, but the family is still waiting for answers about what happened to Nikitha.
And the case also illustrates how an investigation involving two countries can continue long after a suspect leaves the country where the alleged crime took place.
Nikitha was found dead in Maryland in January. Sharma fled to India soon after. A cheating investigation in Hyderabad helped authorities find him in Agra nearly eight months later.
Now that Sharma is in custody and extradition proceedings are in progress, the next step will be to transfer him to the United States, where he faces murder charges in connection with Nikitha Godishala’s death.
