A phone call from a lawyer led the Bengaluru police to the body of a 20-year-old woman in a locked Malleswaram house, and to the arrest of her live-in partner on murder charges Tuesday, two days after the killing.

According to the police Wednesday, the murder of N D Anusha came to light after a lawyer told them that a man named Sharath had called him Sunday, June 14, saying he had killed his live-in partner. After getting the lawyer’s call, the police said they immediately rushed to the rented house and opened the door with the key kept on a window. They found Anusha’s body in the kitchen.

The police said Anusha, an orphan, met Sharath, 27, on Instagram and fell in love with him. They arrived in Bengaluru from Sakleshpur in Hassan district six months ago and began living in Ramesh Babu PN’s house as tenants. They said Babu was unaware of the murder.

A fight over cleaning the kitchen

The police said they traced Sharath through his Call Detail Records (CDR) Monday and formally arrested him the next day.

An officer said Sharath confessed to the murder during interrogation and said he strangled Anusha, following a fight over not cleaning the kitchen. Sharath worked as a water tanker driver and Anusha stayed at home, the officer added.

Her elder sister lives in Sakleshpur.

“There is no evidence to say that Sharath and Anusha were married, and even her sister was unaware of it,” the police officer added.

The police said that they have registered a case of murder based on Babu’s complaint. According to the First Information Report (FIR), Babu stated that Anusha and Sharath told him they were married and often fought over trivial issues.

After the post-mortem, Anusha’s body was handed over to her sister.

The police said further investigation is underway.