A man wanted for the stabbing death of his former roommate in Columbia, Maryland, has been taken into custody in India, ending an eight-month international manhunt. Howard County police announced that Arjun Sharma is now in custody overseas, though officials say there is no timeline yet for his return to face charges in the death of 27-year-old Nikitha Godishala.
Sharma was apprehended on August 24 in Agra, where he had been hiding in a residential complex, according to The Times of India. A Telangana police team arrested him while executing an Interpol Red Corner Notice, capping a search that spanned two countries since Godishala's body was discovered inside her Columbia apartment. As reported by CBS News Baltimore, Sharma is expected to be extradited to the United States, where he will be charged with first- and second-degree murder.
The path back to Maryland will not be immediate. A Delhi judicial magistrate formally remanded Sharma into custody on August 25 following the execution of non-bailable arrest warrants, a step meant to formally initiate extradition proceedings, the Times of India reported. Under the 1997 extradition treaty between the United States and India, the process requires dual criminality, formal diplomatic dossiers, and judicial review of prima facie evidence by Indian courts before any suspect can be handed over, according to documentation from the Embassy of India in Washington, D.C.
How the Killing Was Discovered
Detectives believe Godishala was killed shortly after 7 p.m. on December 31, 2025, according to CBS News Baltimore. Police found her body at the apartment with multiple stab wounds. The Times of India reported that investigators discovered her body stashed inside a suitcase placed in a closet during their search of Sharma's apartment on January 3.
That apartment was located inside the Ten M complex on the 10100 block of Twin Rivers Road in downtown Columbia, near Columbia Mall, according to WMAR-2 News Baltimore. Howard County police executed the search warrant there after information from friends and family raised red flags, a police spokesperson said, propelling the investigation toward foul play. Sharma had told police he last saw Godishala at his apartment on New Year's Eve.
Godishala, who lived in Ellicott City, had posted on social media in August 2025 seeking someone to take over her apartment room, according to the CBS News Baltimore report. Her father, Anand Godishala, said his daughter moved to Columbia four years ago and that she and Sharma were roommates. He described her as someone who once called her ex-roommate respectful and clean, even as the relationship later soured.
A Suspect's Head Start
Sharma himself reported Godishala missing on January 2, the day after police believe she was killed. Howard County police confirmed he boarded an international flight to India that same day, before officers had established foul play or executed the search warrant, per WBAL NewsRadio. That head start allowed him to leave the country before investigators even confirmed foul play.
Confusion followed in the weeks after. Howard County police said in January that they could not confirm an arrest, after conflicting reports claimed Sharma had been arrested in Tamil Nadu. WMAR-2 News Baltimore later reported those claims were incorrect, stemming from local police briefly detaining and releasing a man who resembled Sharma. The mix-up left the case in limbo for months while the real manhunt continued.
Family Points to Money, Police Cite a Past Relationship
Howard County police have described Sharma as Godishala's ex-boyfriend, but her family has offered a different account of the relationship, characterizing it as strictly a roommate arrangement. Anand Godishala said Sharma took a lot of money from his daughter and believed the killing was financially motivated. The Times of India reported that a cousin of the victim said Godishala went to Sharma's apartment on New Year's Eve specifically to collect a $1,000 balance remaining on a $4,500 loan she had previously extended to him.
The financial dispute has spilled into legal action in India as well. According to the Times of India, the victim's family filed a separate police report at Lalaguda police station in Telangana, charging Sharma and his mother with criminal conspiracy, cheating, and destruction of evidence — a parallel case pursued alongside the murder charges he faces in Howard County.
Godishala earned a master's degree in Health Information Technology from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County in 2023 and went on to work as a Data and Strategy Analyst at Vheda Health in Columbia, according to The Tribune. Howard County police say there is currently no timeline for Sharma's return to the United States as extradition proceedings move forward in Delhi.
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