CHIKKABALLAPUR: A tragic incident unfolded near the popular tourist destination of Nandi Hills on Monday morning, where a young physiotherapist was found dead inside a locked resort room under mysterious circumstances. Her boyfriend, an engineer and cab driver, was found unconscious next to her. It is suspected that he attempted suicide after murdering her. The deceased has been identified as Sai Surabhi, a resident of Banashankari and a physiotherapist at Satya Sai Hospital in Muddenahalli. Her boyfriend, Sanjeeth Ali, a cab driver hailing from Kozhikode, Kerala, and working in Bengaluru, was found unresponsive alongside her body.Discovery at the homestay According to police, Ali had checked into a homestay near Muddenahalli, close to the Nandi Hills foothills, on Saturday. However, it is not clear when Surabhi joined him. The incident came to light on Monday morning when resort staff noticed that the couple had failed to check out at the scheduled time. Despite repeated knocking and calls, the room remained locked from the inside. Suspecting something amiss, the resort management alerted local police. Upon breaking open the door, officers discovered Surabhi dead. A rope was found tightly tied around her neck, with initial medical indications pointing toward strangulation or hanging. Sanjeeth Ali was found lying unconscious next to her. Police also recovered a diary containing multiple entries from the room, along with scattered medical pills, suggesting Ali may have consumed an overdose in a bid to end his life. He was rushed to a hospital for emergency medical care. Chikkaballapur Superintendent of Police (SP) Kushal Choksi and local police personnel visited the crime scene to conduct a preliminary investigation and oversee forensic collection.Mother, uncle claim it a love jihad Mother Geeta and her brother Shankar Narayan termed it ‘Love Jihad’ case. According to Geeta, her daughter had joined Satya Sai Hospital around 10 days ago as a physiotherapist. “We had rented out a small house in Chikkaballapur so that Surabhi can travel to hospital easily. Weekends, we would return to our Banashankari house,” she said, adding that Surabhi had told her there was a satsang at the hospital on Saturday and that she would attend it. She also said Surabhi told her she would stay at the hospital that night.“Ali was continuously torturing Surabhi; he made her consume drugs and alcohol. After separating from him, we had shifted her to rehabilitation centre and she was cured. But again, he came into her contact. I don’t know how i will go and see my daughter’s body. She would have lived with us had not rejoined with him. Why did god do this to me? Why am i treated in this cruel way,” she said. According to Shankar Narayan, Ali came into Surabhi’s contact when the latter was studying in Dayananda Sagar college. “Through common friends, they became close and Ali started visiting our home. We had opposed Ali’s closeness to Surabhi. However, Surabhi would tell us that Ali harassed and tortured her. Still, she kept in touch with him,” he said. Superintendet of police-Chikkaballapur Kushal Chouksey said it looks like a murder case. “A suspected murder case was reported this afternoon at a homestay near Muddenahalli village. On receiving information from the caretaker that a man and a woman were inside a room, the police rushed to the spot and found the woman dead and the man unconscious. The deceased has been identified as Sai Surbhi, a physiotherapist from Bengaluru. The man has been identified as Sanjeet Ali, a B.E. (Mechanical) graduate presently working as an Uber driver. Preliminary inquiry revealed that the two were in a relationship and had earlier eloped to Kannur last year, after which they returned and stated that they had gone voluntarily. As per the victim’s mother, Sai Surbhi had come to volunteer at Satya Sai Hospital about a week ago. Homestay records indicate that Sanjeet Ali had checked in on Saturday, while the caretaker is unaware of when the deceased joined him. A murder case is being registered. It is suspected that the man also consumed pills and is currently unconscious, police said.
