The Orlando Sentinel archive
                  Published: Friday, July 23, 1999
                  Section: LOCAL & STATE
                  Page: D1

                  By Martin E. Comas of The Sentinel Staff

                  A jealous cousin may have killed a promising University of Central Florida
                  finance student and fled to India, Orange County investigators said Thursday.

                  Kamlesh Agarwal, 21, probably killed Deepa Agarwal, 20, early July 11, and
                  then stuffed her body inside a closet of the two-bedroom apartment they shared
                  on University Boulevard, officials said.

                  ``He was the last person to see her alive,'' Sgt. Ron Corlew said.

                  Deputies found her body Monday, but they have yet to release a cause of
                  death.

                  Investigators said Kamlesh Agarwal, a UCF computer student, was jealous of
                  his cousin's male friends and angry that she frequently stayed out late at night.

                  The day after the slaying, Kamlesh Agarwal sold his green Toyota Tercel and a
                  fax machine to a friend for about $1,500 in cash, Corlew said.

                  He then asked his friend to give him a ride to the airport, telling him he was
                  flying to Bombay, India, and would not return. The friend dropped the traveler
                  off at the British Airways terminal.

                  Kamlesh Agarwal frequently commuted between Central Florida and his native
                  Bombay, Corlew said. According to investigators, he had arrived in Orlando on
                  July 7 from Bombay.

                  On the night of July 10, Deepa Agarwal went out with a group of friends and
                  returned about 3 a.m. to her upstairs home.

                  About that time, a downstairs neighbor at the Mission Bay Apartments said she
                  heard ``a commotion'' coming from the unit.

                  Kamlesh Agarwal was then seen leaving the apartment unit at around 5 a.m.,
                  about the time Deepa died, investigators said.

                  Her red BMW was found Tuesday at a parking lot less than a block away from
                  her home.

                  ``He's someone who's considered a suspect,'' Sgt. Bernie Presha said of
                  Kamlesh Agarwal. ``We'd like to talk to him and he may be able to tell us stuff
                  that we may not know.''

                  So far, Orange County investigators have not confirmed that the cousin actually
                  is in India. He would have to be charged with a crime before officials could file
                  an extradition request with the Indian government, Presha said.

                  Deepa Agarwal, a 1996 Lake Mary High School graduate whose parents now
                  live in India, was a quiet but popular student at UCF, friends said.

                  ``She was so young. I couldn't imagine why anyone would want to harm her,''
                  said Naval Modani, a UCF finance professor who has known her since she was
                  a child.

                  She recently completed course work for an undergraduate degree and was
                  preparing to pursue a doctorate in finance, Modani said.

                  ``She was extremely bright,'' Modani said. ``The whole department is in a very
                  sad mood.''