MBA student said she’ll return home after birthday party. 4 days later, her father identified body by her socks in a locked flat

The last time the father saw his 24-year-old daughter was on February 10, when he dropped her off at the collectorate to get a correction made in her birth certificate. She said she would return home soon — after attending a friend’s birthday party. The family would not see her alive after that. They searched for her, an MBA student, for four days. Then, a phone call from the local police station delivered the bad news. She was found dead in her classmate’s rented room in Indore. Her body was so badly decomposed that her father could identify her only by the socks she wore. Her classmate, Piyush Dhamnodiya, who rented the room and has been named the prime suspect, disappeared after allegedly posting an explicit video from her phone to their college WhatsApp group. Dhamnodiya, who was allegedly on the run for four days, was arrested in Mumbai and has been booked in a rape and murder case, police said. Her father said, “My daughter has been missing since February 10. All of us were under so much stress and pleaded with the local police to trace her. I also went looking for her, and she was untracked for days. We spoke to her friends, hoping for any clue about her whereabouts. Then I got a phone call from the police station asking me to come to the student’s (accused’s) house. I saw her socks and knew this was my daughter, and I identified her body. I can’t even tell you what condition her body was in.” Police claimed she had been in a relationship with the accused since September 8. “At the time of the incident, they were having a fight over the question of marriage. When she told the accused that the families did not want them to get married, he strangulated her in a fit of rage at his flat. He lost his mental composure at the time, and then fled to Maharashtra after procuring a new SIM,” a senior police officer alleged. The father said, “My daughter was in the second semester. She struck up a friendship with… (the accused) during her studies. She was killed in cold blood; her video has been made viral. She was put under severe mental distress, and then killed.” Deputy Commissioner of Police Krishna Lalchandani said, “The matter came to our notice after a neighbour complained of a foul smell emanating from a rented room which was locked from outside.” He said a police team from the local station reached the spot and broke open the door. “Inside, a young woman was found lying lifeless on the bed,” the officer said. “The room was taken on rent by the youth, who is a resident of Mandsaur,” Lalchandani said, adding, “Both the deceased and the youth were MBA students in Indore and were in a relationship.” Lalchandani said that on February 10, after her father dropped the woman off at the collectorate, she called her younger sister and told her that she was going to attend a birthday party and would return home by 11 pm. When the time came and went with no word from her, her family started looking. Her phone was switched off. They searched through the night, checking everywhere they could think of, calling anyone who might know where she was. By morning, with still no sign of her, they filed a missing person’s report. “Her family members searched for her through the night,” Lalchandani said. “A missing person’s complaint was then registered the next morning at a local police station.” But that same night she disappeared, something else happened. An explicit video was posted from her phone to the official college WhatsApp group — a video that showed her face clearly while the man’s face was obscured with an emoji. A family member of the deceased said, “My sister was very sharp in studies. She had completed her graduation and took up a job at a software company. She had dreams of getting a bigger job and fought to do her MBA course. The whole family is distraught over this. When we went looking for her, we got a call from the college; an official told us her explicit videos were leaked on the college WhatsApp group. He (the accused) destroyed my sister’s reputation and then killed her.” The college authorities deleted the video and contacted the woman’s father the next day, informing him that the mobile phones of both students were switched off, police said. The family believes the video wasn’t just sent to the college group. They say it was also posted to her WhatsApp status and sent to people in her contact list, all using her own phone, and alleged that the accused was forcing her to pay his college fees. Said a relative of the woman, “We did not hear about any marriage plans. We have now found that she was being blackmailed over her objectionable photos by the accused.” Police said further investigations are underway. Anand Mohan J is an award-winning Senior Correspondent for The Indian Express, currently leading the bureau’s coverage of Madhya Pradesh. With a career spanning over eight years, he has established himself as a trusted voice at the intersection of law, internal security, and public policy. Based in Bhopal, Anand is widely recognized for his authoritative reporting on Maoist insurgency in Central India. In late 2025, he provided exclusive, ground-level coverage of the historic surrender of the final Maoist cadres in Madhya Pradesh, detailing the backchannel negotiations and the "vacuum of command" that led to the state being declared Maoist-free. Expertise and Reporting Beats Anand’s investigative work is characterized by a "Journalism of Courage" approach, holding institutions accountable through deep-dive analysis of several key sectors: National Security & Counter-Insurgency: He is a primary chronicler of the decline of Naxalism in the Central Indian corridor, documenting the tactical shifts of security forces and the rehabilitation of surrendered cadres. Judiciary & Legal Accountability: Drawing on over four years of experience covering Delhi’s trial courts and the Madhya Pradesh High Court, Anand deconstructs complex legal rulings. He has exposed critical institutional lapses, including custodial safety violations and the misuse of the National Security Act (NSA). Wildlife Conservation (Project Cheetah): Anand is a leading reporter on Project Cheetah at Kuno National Park. He has provided extensive coverage of the biological and administrative hurdles of rewilding Namibian and South African cheetahs, as well as high-profile cases of wildlife trafficking. Public Health & Social Safety: His recent investigative work has uncovered systemic negligence in public services, such as contaminated blood transfusions causing HIV infections in thalassemia patients and the human cost of the fertilizer crisis affecting rural farmers. Professional Background Tenure: Joined The Indian Express in 2017. Locations: Transitioned from the high-pressure Delhi City beat (covering courts, police, and labor issues) to his current role as a regional lead in Madhya Pradesh. Notable Investigations: * Exposed the "digital arrest" scams targeting entrepreneurs. Investigated the Bandhavgarh elephant deaths and the impact of kodo millet fungus on local wildlife. Documented the transition of power and welfare schemes (like Ladli Behna) in Madhya Pradesh governance. Digital & Professional Presence Author Profile: Anand Mohan J at Indian Express Twitter handle: @mohanreports ... Read More