Teen found dead in Bengaluru hotel: Suspect switched off phone after reaching railway station, shows probe

The police probe shows Hanoy, who came to Bengaluru in June this year after his graduation, switched off his phone after he reached the railway station. They pieced together information about Hanoy’s exit from the hotel, and probably the city, through CCTV footage, questioning people like the cab driver who arrived at the hotel for the pickup on the morning of November 26, and Call Detail Records (CDR).

The police suspect that factors like jealousy and obsession may have played a role in the murder as the relationship between the two was not stable and was fraying on many accounts. “An analysis of the phone records of the victim and the accused show there were thousands of calls and messages between them in the last six months,” said a source.

Hanoi and Deka reportedly met while working for an education consultancy firm in Bengaluru. Deka also created videos and posted them online since coming to Bengaluru over three years ago to live with her sister and a cousin on the city’s outskirts.

Murder at a Bengaluru hotel

Hanoy and Gogoi checked into the facility in Indiranagar in East Bengaluru in the afternoon of November 23. Hanoy was seen leaving the hotel alone on the morning of November 26 on footage from CCTV cameras.

Deka’s body was found later in the day by the hotel staff who opened the room, which had not been locked, and found a foul smell before stumbling upon the 19-year-old lying in a pool of blood on the bed. The Bengaluru police suspect Hanoy killed his girlfriend on November 24 and stayed with her body for two days before fleeing.

According to the First Information Report (FIR) registered on the basis of a police complaint filed by the hotel owner P Ali Imani, Hanoy and Gogoi checked into the hotel at around 12.38 pm on November 23, saying they needed a room for a day. The next day when the hotel manager asked them about their checkout plans, Hanoy told him they would leave in the afternoon. However, Hanoi later said they would check out in the evening and then told the hotel staff they would leave the next day.

When the hotel staff asked the couple about their checkout on November 25 through the intercom, Hanoy told them they would extend the stay until the next day. On November 26, Hanoy left the hotel abruptly at 8.28 am and did not respond to phone calls by the staff. When calls to Deka also did not yield any response, the staff went to the room on the first floor and found it unlocked, according to the police complaint.

“The victim’s phone was found to be inactive since November 24 (the day after the couple came to the hotel) and this suggests that she must have been killed on the second day after they checked into the facility,” said a police source.

Murder motive

Hanoy allegedly stabbed Deka multiple times on her chest and head. The Bengaluru police are yet to ascertain whether Hanoy planned to kill Deka when they checked into the hotel on November 23 or later. Sources said Hanoy may have gone out of the hotel to procure a knife on the second day to commit the crime or could have carried it with him. The police have also found that Hanoy brought a nylon rope to the room as a possible murder tool.

The Bengaluru police are still looking for Hanoy, who switched off his phone after booking the cab and leaving the hotel on November 26. He has limited access to money and is expected to be found soon, according to sources.

The police have said Deka hailed from Kailash Nagar in Gauhati, Assam, and her sister, with whom she lived in Bengaluru, was her guardian following the death of their parents.

Hanoy, a resident of Thottada in Kannur, was brought up by his mother following the death of his father at an early age, sources said. He worked as a student counsellor at a well-known start-up education consultancy in Central Bengaluru after moving to the city in June this year. An online profile describes him as an enthusiastic person with “expertise in research writing and social media management”.

“It is only a question of time before he is found. The exact motive for the murder can be known only after his arrest,” said a police source.