Bengaluru: A-24-year-old gym instructor was arrested for murdering his woman friend, a software engineer, at Nagondanahalli near Whitefield on August 16.

The accused has been identified as Harish Kumar, a resident of Delhi. Police said that Harish smothered Vijayalakshmi, who also hailed from Delhi, to death over a trivial row.





A senior official said that Vijaylakshmi had met Harish when she was in college. The woman used to frequent his gym and they became close friends.

However, after completing her graduation, Vijayalakshmi moved to Bengaluru around a month ago. Harish was upset and felt she was ignoring him.

"He came to Bengaluru and picked up a quarrel. In fit of rage, he smothered her to death and went back to Delhi. Whitefield police went to Delhi and arrested him," said Abdul Ahad, DCP Whitefield.

Vijaylakshmi's decomposed body was found in her third-floor apartment on August 19, after her house owner experienced foul smell and peeped through the window.

He alerted the police. She was working as a software engineer at a private software firm at ITPB.