Police probe reveals air hostess was murdered in Bengaluru; wanted to break up with boyfriend over affair, says sister

Archana’s body was found in Renuka Residency apartment in Koramangala, where she was living with her boyfriend Adesh, early Saturday. A resident of Himachal Pradesh, she had come to Adesh’s place four days before she died.

Anjana Dhiman, the woman’s younger sister who is in Bengaluru, said Archana wanted to break up with Adesh as she discovered he was having an affair with another woman. “She had met him on a dating site and both were in a relationship and she was very serious about it. She had informed the family members also. On February 14, she went to Adesh’s place which we did not know about. In the last week of February, in a call, she told me that she wanted to break up with Adesh as she found out about the affair through a common friend.”

“We were not aware that she was in Bengaluru. My mother tried calling her many times and she did not pick up the calls. On Friday, she picked up her call and said she was doing well and that she was busy. We used to chat on WhatsApp or on Instagram often and she never revealed it. On Friday night around 11.30 pm, she sent me Instagram reels which she always used to do. An hour later, my mother got a call from Adesh that she had fallen off the apartment and died. We did not believe it initially,” she added.

Archana was the eldest daughter among five siblings–four girls and a boy–of Dev Raj, a carpenter. After completing Class 12, Archana joined the civil aviation industry. “She was a brave and responsible woman. She took care of the family and wanted to achieve in life. Before meeting Adesh, she used to say that she won’t marry till all her siblings have settled down,” Anjana said.

A police officer said Archana had questioned Adesh about the affair he had with another woman and she had allegedly threatened him with legal action. It was then that Adesh decided to kill her, the officer added.

While the police have recovered CCTV footage from the spot, an officer said they are now probing technical evidence they have collected for further investigations.

According to the police, Adesh called the police control room to report that Archana had fallen off the building. She was rushed to a nearby hospital where doctors declared her ‘brought dead’.