Who is Varun Batchigari? Indian student arrested for killing girlfriend in US

A 20-year-old Indian man wanted for the murder of his 19-year-old girlfriend in Arizona has been arrested in Germany, as per US media reports. Varun Batchigari is suspected of murdering college student Julissa Rubi Salazar, who was found inside her apartment near the University of Arizona in Tucson on Thursday. The police found her body with signs of trauma and they suspected of sexual assault, going with reports. The accused has been charged with first degree murder. 

Motive for murder; here’s what investigation revealed 

Following the crime, Batchigari tried to flee United States and stole her phone, credit cards and sent a series of messages to her mother. The Police investigation revealed that the accused escaped to  Tucson International Airport from where he took a flight to Houston that connected to another flight out to Berlin. He was trying to fly to India, as per reports. 

Salazar’s roommates suspected that the alleged murder happened as she decided to break up with him over his history of domestic violence. Before the murder, the roommates heard of loud screaming from her room. The roommates later contacted her to know whether she was safe but they received a response reading she was fine. 

Who is Varun Batchigari? 

Varun Batchigari was a student of Business Analytics at the University of Arizona, however he was expelled from the college following a fight. He had a history of domestic violence allegations, according to reports.

Similar incident: Indian-origin woman’s partner arrested in Canada seven months after murder

A 32-year-old man has been arrested by Canadian authorities for the murder of his Indian-origin partner in downtown Toronto, said the police on Saturday (local time). The development comes seven months after he murdered his partner and fled from the scene. The accused was identified as Abdul Ghafoori, who was wanted by the Canadian Police for the murder of 30-year-old Himanshi Khurana. Khurana was found dead inside a residence in December, which the police described as Toronto’s 40th case of homicide in 2025.

According to the police, Khurana and Ghafoori were in an “intimate partner relationship”. Khurana had gone missing from the Strachan Avenue and Wellington Street West area after which officials launched a search. On December 20, she was found dead around 6:30 am. Following that, the police launched a thorough investigation and Ghafoori’s photographs and videos were shared. After seven months of the incident, he was located and arrested by the police on August 7, and was charged with first degree murder. 

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Indian-origin woman’s partner arrested in Canada’s Toronto seven months after her murder