The Calangute Police have arrested a 40-year-old woman from Bengaluru for the alleged murder and robbery of a Karnataka tourist in Goa, claiming to have cracked what investigators believe is a honeytrap operation targeting affluent men. The accused, identified as Akshata M K alias Ru pashree C, was arrested in Bengaluru on Friday in connection with the death of Sandeep Salayam, a wa ter sports operator from Malpe in Karnataka, whose body was found in a re sort room at Umtawaddo, Calangute, on Tuesday night.
Police said they have re covered the victim’s stolen gold chain from her pos session. Following the arrest, po lice registered offences of murder, robbery and poi soning under the Bhara tiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), alleging that the accused befriended Salayam at a casino before luring him to a resort, where she al legedly administered sed atives with the intention of robbing him. Investigators suspect Salayam died after being given an overdose of the sedative. After his death, the accused alleg edly fled with his gold chain and bracelet.
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According to investigators, technical surveillance first tracked the accused to Mangaluru, prompting a Calangute Police team to rush there on Thursday. However, she had already travelled to Bengaluru, where she was apprehend ed by the Karnataka Police. She was subsequently handed over to the Goa Police on transit remand and was brought to Calangute for detailed interrogation on Friday evening. During the investigation, police also linked the accused to an earlier robbery case involving a strikingly similar mo dus operandi. In that case, a complainant alleged that he had met the woman at a casino in Goa before she persuaded him to accompany her to a hotel in Panjim. Once there, she alleg edly drugged him and escaped with gold ornaments worth about Rs 7 lakh. Police said the complainant later identified the accused, enabling investigators to trace her through her mobile phone number. Investigators now believe the accused may have system atically targeted affluent men visiting Goa.
According to po lice, she would allegedly befriend victims at casinos, offer sexual services, lure them to hotel rooms and administer sleeping pills or sedatives before escaping with cash and jewellery after they lost consciousness. Police suspect there could be more victims and have ap pealed to anyone who may have encountered the accused under similar circumstances to come forward and record their statements. The operation to trace and arrest the accused was led by Police Inspector Laxmi Amonkar and the Calangute Police investigation team. A case has been registered under Sections 194, 123 (poi soning), 309 (robbery) and 103(1) (murder) of the Bhara tiya Nyaya Sanhita. Police said further investigations are underway to ascertain whether the accused was involved in similar offences elsewhere in Goa or in other states.
Salayam had travelled to Goa on Sunday with his cousin and a group of friends from Karnataka for a holiday during the off-season for their water sports business. While the group was staying at a hotel in Calangute, Salayam alleged ly met the accused at a casino before the two checked into another resort. When repeated calls to Salayam went unanswered on Tuesday, his cousin went looking for him and found him lying unconscious in his room at around 10 pm. He was rushed to hospital, where he was declared dead. Police initially treated the case as a mysterious death be fore registering a murder case after the investigation point ed towards alleged foul play.
