Murder-suicide?: Missing woman found dead in hotel room, boyfriend on train tracks

A 26-year-old woman was allegedly killed by a 30-year-old man, believed to be her lover, before he committed suicide on a railway track in Raipur, police said on Sunday, citing preliminary investigation.

Vani Goyal’s body was found in a hotel room, while Vishal Garg (30) was lying dead on the railway tracks near Urkura railway station earlier in the day.

Family members of Goyal, a resident of Saraswati police station, lodged a missing complaint on Saturday, following which the police launched a search, an official said.

“Goyal’s mobile phone was traced to Nagpur in neighbouring Maharashtra state, following which a police team rushed to the spot. The police found her mobile phone but could not locate her,” he said.

Meanwhile, Garg’s body was found on a railway track near Urkura railway station under Khamtarai police station limits, he said.

Garg was a resident of Ambikapur town in Surguja district.

Later, police received information that Goyal was lying dead on the floor of a room at Babylon Inn hotel in Raipur’s Jail Road area, the official said.

Preliminary investigation suggests that the woman was beaten and strangled to death, he said, adding that the exact cause of death will be identified in the autopsy report.

Documents and CCTV footage show the duo checked into the hotel around 1.30pm on Saturday.

“Initial investigations suggest that Garg may have murdered the woman before committing suicide. However, the investigation into the matter is underway,” he added.