In a tragic incident in Karnataka’s Chikkaballapur district, a 26-year-old physiotherapist from Bengaluru was found dead under mysterious circumstances at a homestay, while her boyfriend lay unconscious in the same room and was later hospitalised.
The victim, identified as Surabhi, a Hindu woman, had been in a relationship with Sanjeet Ali, a Muslim man from Kerala. According to authorities, the pair had previously eloped despite strong opposition from Surabhi’s family. Her relatives alleged that Ali had introduced her to narcotics, leading to her developing addictions to alcohol and drugs. They also claimed he had repeatedly assaulted her, including causing injuries to her private parts.
Surabhi had expressed her desire to marry Ali, but her family objected. Following their elopement, her family filed a missing person report. She later returned, asserting her adulthood and legal right to choose her partner, after which she began living with him.
A case under the NDPS Act was previously registered against both after drugs were reportedly recovered at a party they attended. Surabhi’s family eventually intervened, rescuing her and admitting her to a rehabilitation centre in Mysuru for nearly six months. After completing treatment, she returned to live with her mother in Bengaluru.
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Investigators are examining how Surabhi reconnected with Ali despite the reported history of abuse and family disapproval. Police believe Ali learned of her arrival in Chikkaballapur to volunteer at the Sports Authority of India (SAI) campus. He travelled from Kerala and booked the homestay, where the couple stayed together for three days prior to the incident.
Officers recovered a rope, numerous tablets, signs of vomiting, and a pillow from the room. No visible external injuries or bloodstains were found on Surabhi’s body. Chikkaballapur Superintendent of Police Kushal Chowksi stated that it remains unclear whether the death resulted from suicide, murder, or poisoning, and that the precise cause would be determined only after post-mortem and forensic examinations.
Authorities are exploring several possibilities, including murder followed by an attempted suicide by Ali, a joint suicide pact, or involvement of poison. Ali, believed to be unemployed, has no prior criminal record except for the NDPS case. His statement, once he regains consciousness, is expected to be key in piecing together the sequence of events.
Surabhi had arrived in the area four or five days earlier for volunteering, a detail confirmed by her family and under verification with SAI officials. Police continue to investigate the full circumstances surrounding the case