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Bengaluru, Nov 30: The Bengaluru police have unraveled the brutal murder of Assam-born vlogger and counselor Maya Gogoi, apprehending her boyfriend-turned-assailant, Aarav Hanoy, from Devanahalli on the city’s outskirts. Aarav, a Kerala native, confessed to the crime, citing a personal quarrel as the trigger for his actions.

“We are still verifying his statements to determine whether the murder was premeditated. Scientific validation will help us establish the exact motive,” stated DCP (East) Devaraju.

A Sinister Timeline

The investigation revealed that after the crime, Aarav fled the scene, traveling extensively across Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh before returning to Bengaluru. Using CCTV footage and tracking efforts, police located him near Devanahalli, where he was arrested on Friday.

Aarav and Maya had checked into a service apartment on November 23. A heated argument led Aarav to stab Maya to death using a knife he had ordered online along with a nylon rope. After the murder, Aarav shockingly spent two days in the apartment with Maya's lifeless body, reportedly smoking cigarettes in front of the corpse before fleeing the scene on November 26.

The Relationship and the Crime

Aarav and Maya met six months ago via the Bumble app, leading to a relationship. Aarav, an intern earning Rs 15,000 monthly, had been in Bengaluru for six months, while Maya worked at counseling centers in Jayanagar and HSR Layout. Maya’s sister, who lived with her, was aware of the relationship.

On November 22, Maya informed her sister she wouldn’t be returning home, citing an office party. The following night, she messaged again, stating she was out partying. CCTV footage from the apartment shows Maya entering the room with Aarav, appearing cheerful and at ease.

Police Action and Next Steps

The police deployed three teams, with one tracking Aarav in Kerala and another in North Karnataka. After extensive efforts, they arrested him in Devanahalli. “The formalities of the arrest will be completed by tomorrow, and we’ll take him into custody for further investigation,” the DCP said.

The shocking crime, discovered within the Indiranagar police station limits on November 26, has sent shockwaves through the city. Investigators are piecing together the sequence of events as further details emerge in this harrowing case.

The Israeli military has conducted fresh attacks on Lebanon in violation of a ceasefire agreement with the Hezbollah resistance movement and ramped up its deadly airstrikes on the Gaza Strip.

In a statement posted Thursday on X, the Lebanese army said Israeli occupation forces several times violated the truce deal just after it went into effect, and the following day.

"These breaches included aerial violations and attacks on Lebanese territory using various weapons," it added.

The Israeli military confirmed its Thursday aerial assault on southern Lebanon, adding that its forces had also opened fire towards the people who were driving to their homes in the area.

Earlier, Lebanese media reported that at least two people were wounded after Israeli tank fire hit five towns and some agricultural fields in the country's south.

"The Israeli enemy is attacking those returning to the border villages," Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah said. "There are violations today by Israel, even in this form."

Israel was forced to accept a ceasefire with Hezbollah after suffering heavy losses following more than 14 months of fighting and failing to achieve its goals in its aggression on Lebanon.

The truce agreement, brokered by the United States and France, came into effect before dawn on Wednesday. It will last for 60 days in the hope of reaching a permanent cessation of hostilities.

At least 3,961 people were killed and 16,520 others injured in Israeli attacks on Lebanon.

Hezbollah opened a support front for Palestinians in Gaza only a day after Israel unleashed its war against the besieged territory in October 2023, launching numerous retaliatory attacks against Israeli targets in the occupied territories. 

In a statement that followed the ceasefire, Hezbollah vowed to continue resisting Israel and monitoring the occupation army’s withdrawal from south Lebanon “with [our] hands on the trigger” in defense of Lebanon’s sovereignty.

Hezbollah further empathized that its fighters “remain fully equipped to deal with the aspirations and assaults of the Israeli enemy."

It also reaffirmed its commitment to the Palestinian cause, noting that it will continue the path of resistance with even greater determination.

Israeli strikes on Gaza kill 42

Across the Gaza Strip, at least 42 people were killed in Israeli attacks on Thursday. 

Reports said Israeli forces stepped up their bombardment of Gaza's central areas and tanks pushed deeper into the Palestinian territory’s north and south.

Since October 2023, the Tel Aviv regime has so far killed at least 44,330 Palestinians and injured 104,933 others in its brutal Gaza onslaught.

The head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) said at least 70 percent of those killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza were women and children.

Philippe Lazzarini said the ongoing Israeli offensive in the northern edge of Gaza has uprooted 130,000 people over the past seven weeks.

Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, Leader of the Islamic Revolution, has called the Syrian conflict a "joint American and Zionist plot," while attributing a secondary role to a neighboring country in the crisis.

Speaking to a gathering in Tehran on Wednesday, Ayatollah Khamenei emphasized, "There should be no doubt that what happened in Syria was plotted in the command rooms of the United States and Israel. We have evidence for this."

The Leader also pointed to the involvement of a neighboring nation, widely understood to be Turkey, stating, "One of the neighboring countries of Syria also played a role, but the primary planners are the US and the Zionist regime."

Ayatollah Khamenei dismissed fears of a weakened resistance front following the takeover of parts of Syria by militants and Takfiri terrorists. He assured that resistance will emerge stronger despite the adversities. "This is what the resistance is, this is what the resistance front is. The more you push, the stronger it becomes; the more you commit crimes, the more motivated it becomes. The more you fight with them, the more widespread it will be, and I tell you, by the Divine Power, the domain of resistance will cover the entire region more than before."

The Leader rejected analysis suggesting that a weakened resistance front would lead to Iran’s decline. "That ignorant analyst, unaware of the meaning of resistance, imagines that when the resistance becomes weak, Islamic Iran will also become weak, and I say that by God's will and power and with the permission of God Almighty, Iran is strong and powerful and will only grow more powerful," Ayatollah Khamenei declared.

Highlighting the divisions among militant groups operating in Syria, the Leader noted, "Each group has its own agenda and all seek to stake out their own turf."