Canadian police arrest victim's partner seven months after he allegedly killed Indian-origin woman

Nearly seven months after Himanshi Khurana, a 30-year-old Indian-origin woman, was found dead at a residence in Toronto, Canadian police have arrested a 32-year-old man in connection with the murder.

Khurana was found dead on 20 December, in what police described as an "act of intimate partner violence," Hindustan Times reported on Sunday. Her partner, Abdul Ghafoori, who is also from Toronto, was subsequently sought by police on a first-degree murder charge and was arrested at an airport on Friday.

Toronto's fugitive squad and homicide unit worked with national and international law enforcement agencies to bring him back to Canada, according to a police statement released Saturday. However, it did not reveal which country Ghafoori had been in.

Here's what we know about Himanshi Khurana's murder:

Khurana was found dead in what was Toronto’s 40th homicide case in 2025, police confirmed. In December, Toronto Police said they received information regarding a woman missing from the Strachan Avenue and Wellington Street West area at around 10:41 pm and launched a search operation, following which her body was discovered in the same area the next morning.

The police said at the time, "On Friday, December 19, 2025, at approximately 10:41 pm, police responded to a call for a Missing Person in the Strachan Avenue and Wellington Street West area," and added, "On Saturday, December 20, 2025, at approximately 6:30 am, officers located the missing female deceased inside a residence."

As the investigation progressed, officials confirmed that the accused and victim were in an "intimate partner relationship," following which a nationwide arrest warrant was issued, with officials also releasing Ghafoori's image and seeking public assistance. Toronto police said, "We have released an image of the suspect, and that is out there, and we’re appealing to the public, if anybody would happen to know where this man is, to please call police."

The case has attracted attention in both Canada and India, with the Indian Consulate in Toronto expressing shock over the killing and saying it is working closely with local authorities as the investigation continues.

Indian Consulate expressed condolences, offered assistance

The Consulate General of India in Canada expressed its condolences following Khurana's death. In a statement, the Consulate said it was "deeply saddened and shocked by the murder of Ms. Himanshi Khurana, a young Indian national, in Toronto,” and conveyed its “deepest condolences to her bereaved family during this moment of profound grief.”

It further said that it had been in close touch with the case over the last couple of days and that all possible assistance was being provided to the family in coordination with Canadian authorities.

The arrest marks a significant development in the investigation, which remains ongoing.