A woman hailing from Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, was murdered in a Manali hotel.

The deceased has been identified as a 26-year-old. She had come to Manali with the accused, Vinod, who hails from Palwal district, Haryana. The incident came to light on late Wednesday, when the hotel staff became suspicious of the accused and informed the local police.

Police arrived at the hotel to conduct a search and discovered the body of the deceased in the trunk of a taxi parked at the hotel premises. The accused was trying to leave the hotel with the body, which was wrapped in a bag, when the hotel staff became suspicious.

According to the police, the two had arrived in Manali on May 13 and were staying in the hotel.

Deputy superintendent of police KD Sharma said a case has been registered under section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code and the accused has been arrested.

“The hotel manager informed the police at around 7.50 pm and upon receiving the information, police immediately took action,” the DSP added.

Investigators also said that the family of the deceased has been informed and the body has been sent for the postmortem. While a forensic team is also investigating the crime scene, police are also probing the relationship between the two and the motive behind the murder.