India man held for killing 'Facebook friend'

Attacks on women by spurned men are common in India

Police in the western Indian city of Mumbai have arrested a man who allegedly murdered a woman he met on Facebook after inviting her home.

Haridas Nirgude, 25, had told police he killed her because she had refused to have sex with him, the Press Trust of India news agency reported.

Police said they are waiting for the post-mortem report to find out if she was raped.

They believe she had been strangled to death.

Police told the Times of India newspaper that the woman was there to meet Mr Nirgude who she had recently befriended on Facebook.

Neighbours said they found her body on the stairs outside Mr Nirgude's apartment and called the police. They had told police that they had seen the woman entering the apartment earlier.

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When they searched Mr Nirgude's home, they found her mobile phone and her bag.

Violence against women is deeply entrenched across India - and attacks by spurned men, jealous partners or stalkers are common.

Scrutiny of sexual violence has grown since the 2012 gang rape and murder of a student on a Delhi bus, and has led to the formulation of tougher laws aimed at dealing with such attacks.