Guwahati Police arrested a 26-year-old man on Saturday morning after a 22-year-old student of Gauhati University was found dead in a room at a homestay where the two had been staying. The man has claimed that the woman died by suicide.

However, police are not convinced by his account and suspect that it could be a case of murder. At the time of writing, the post-mortem report was awaited. Police said no blood marks were found on the body or on the floor.

Two important details have emerged so far. A family friend claimed that the woman had told her family that she would stay at a friend’s house at night. However, she allegedly called her mother around midnight and said, “They will kill me,” after which her phone was reportedly “possibly taken away.”

This claim is yet to be verified by the police.

The second detail relates to the statement of the homestay caretaker, who reportedly heard a man shouting at night and asking someone to get up.

The deceased was Hindu and the arrested man is her Muslim boyfriend. Following the death, some organizations staged protests and alleged “love jihad.” These allegations have not been established, and the circumstances surrounding the woman’s death remain under investigation.

Police are awaiting the post-mortem findings and are examining the statements and other available evidence to determine the circumstances of the death.