A 24-year-old MBA student was found dead in a rented accommodation in Indore, days after she went missing, in a case that has revealed disturbing details and raised questions about delays in police response. Her boyfriend, Piyush Dhamnotiya, has been arrested and is currently on police remand.
The woman, a first-year MBA student at an institute in Indore, had left home on Tuesday after telling her family she needed to get her birth certificate corrected. Her father dropped her near the collectorate earlier in the day. Later, she spoke to her younger sister and said she would attend a birthday gathering with her classmate and boyfriend, Piyush Dhamnotiya, and return home by 11 pm. She never did.
Around 11 pm, a message was sent from her phone stating that she would not be returning home. Soon after, her phone was switched off. Around the same time, objectionable videos featuring the woman were posted from her phone to a college WhatsApp group. The college management removed the content and informed her father the next day, also noting that both students’ phones were unreachable.
The family began searching for her and approached multiple police stations. A missing person complaint was eventually registered late on Wednesday night. The family later alleged that there was little urgency in tracing her. According to them, a police officer visited Dhamnotiya’s rented house in Indore’s Dwarkapuri area, locked it from outside, and left, saying the landlord would be informed if anyone came.
Two days later, on Friday, residents complained of a foul smell coming from the locked house. Police broke open the door and found the woman’s body inside in an advanced state of decomposition. The victim’s father said the body had deteriorated to the extent that he could identify his daughter only by the socks she was wearing. Rope marks were visible around her neck, indicating strangulation. An initial medical assessment suggested that the death had occurred around three days earlier, consistent with the day she went missing.
Police also examined CCTV footage from the area. According to investigators, the footage shows Dhamnotiya arriving at the house with the woman on February 10. About two and a half hours later, he is seen leaving alone, carrying a bag.
Police allege that Dhamnotiya pressured the woman for sex and assaulted her when she refused. They claim he tied her hands and feet, blindfolded her, and later strangled her. Investigators also allege that he stabbed her near the chest after realising she had stopped breathing. Police further claim that he remained in the room for some time after the killing, went out to buy beer, returned, and drank beside the body. During interrogation, he is alleged to have admitted to sexually assaulting the body before changing his clothes and leaving the victim behind.
According to police, at least 11 objectionable videos were circulated using the victim’s phone after the incident. The clips were shared in a college WhatsApp group, uploaded to her WhatsApp status, and sent to contacts saved on her phone. The victim’s father has alleged that his daughter was being mentally harassed and blackmailed by Dhamnotiya before her death, and that she had shared her concerns with her younger sister.
After leaving Indore, police say Dhamnotiya travelled to Mumbai, moving through Panvel and staying in hotels. Investigators claim he destroyed the victim’s mobile phone to eliminate evidence. Police also allege that he went to a secluded location, watched online videos on “summoning spirits,” and attempted rituals that they described as bizarre behaviour following the crime.
Dhamnotiya, a resident of Mandsaur district in Madhya Pradesh whose father runs a grocery store, had moved to Indore for his MBA studies. He was arrested in Mumbai with the help of Mumbai Police and brought back to Indore. During interrogation, police say he gave multiple versions of events. In one account, he claimed he wanted to marry the woman but believed she was distancing herself and had found a dating app on her phone, which led to an argument that escalated.
The investigation is ongoing, and police say further details will emerge as questioning continues and forensic reports are examined.
