WASHINGTON, Aug 11: A 20-year-old Indian student accused of murdering his 19-year-old girlfriend in the US has been arrested in Germany while attempting to travel to India, authorities said.
Varun Batchigari, a business analytics student at the University of Arizona, is accused of killing his girlfriend, Julissa Rubi Salazar, at her apartment in Tucson on August 6.
According to the Tucson Police Department (TPD), Batchigari travelled to Tucson International Airport following the alleged killing and boarded a flight to Germany, with plans to continue onward to India.
Investigators subsequently obtained an arrest warrant charging him with first-degree murder and kidnapping. In coordination with the FBI’s Tucson office and its Legal Attaché Office in Berlin, German authorities arrested Batchigari after he arrived in Germany, preventing him from continuing his journey.
Police allege that Batchigari took Salazar’s cellphone and credit cards following the killing and sent text messages to her mother while impersonating the victim, apparently in an attempt to conceal her death.
The messages reportedly raised concerns among Salazar’s family, who requested a welfare check. Officers responding to the request discovered her body inside her apartment.
Local media reports said the Tucson Fire Department initially responded to a call concerning a possible cardiac arrest at around 4 pm on August 6. Responders found Salazar dead on the floor with a blanket pulled up to her neck. She reportedly had marks consistent with strangulation and scratches on her neck, prompting the fire crew to contact police.
According to an arrest warrant obtained by KOLD-TV, Batchigari had previously been the subject of an assault investigation by the University of Arizona Police Department.
Investigators also interviewed witnesses who alleged that Salazar had moved out after experiencing problems with Batchigari in late 2025 and had planned to end their relationship. The warrant reportedly contains allegations from several witnesses concerning his alleged previous violent behaviour.
One witness also alleged that Batchigari sexually assaulted her at a Halloween party, although she said the incident was never reported to police.
Reports further indicate that Batchigari had an ongoing assault case in Pima County Court, filed in May, involving allegations that he knowingly caused injury.
Federal records cited by US media reportedly showed that he remained in lawful immigration status at the time of the alleged murder, despite reports that he had been expelled from the University of Arizona.
Batchigari is currently awaiting extradition to Arizona, where he is expected to be booked into the Pima County Adult Detention Complex on the murder and kidnapping warrant.
