Tourist, 29, Fatally Stabbed on Paradise Island Mauritius After Meeting Online Connection
A 29-year-old tourist was tragically stabbed to death on the paradise island of Mauritius after meeting a man she connected with on Tinder for what was intended to be a holiday romance.
Zaliya Shamigulova, a university teacher from Russia, had been missing since August 17 after leaving her rental flat near Flic-en-Flac beach. She was last seen wearing a white and blue dress as she got into a blue Toyota car driven by a local man who had offered her a lift. This was the last time she was seen alive, and her disappearance was reported by her female travel companion.
Shortly after, her family in Russia received messages, purportedly from Zaliya, stating that she had decided to disappear and asking them not to contact her.
On August 22, her naked body was discovered in a makeshift grave in a wooded area of La Marie, a residential neighborhood. She had suffered multiple stab wounds, according to reports.
It has now been revealed that the detained suspect, 29-year-old Puryavirsingh Sundur, met Zaliya through the Tinder dating app. Sundur, an IT engineer, has confessed to the killing, according to local police, who are investigating whether there were any accomplices.
“He said he was deeply in love with Zaliya and claimed he was planning to marry her,” the report stated. During interrogation, Sundur alleged that he learned about what he believed to be his new girlfriend’s infidelity.
On August 17, Sundur took Zaliya on a sightseeing trip around the island. However, in a fit of jealous rage, he reportedly pulled out a knife and brutally killed her, before stripping her body and burying it.
Zaliya had recently posted about her Mauritius holiday, saying she was “catching happiness every day.” She had also been a torchbearer ahead of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.
Zaliya, who was from Chelyabinsk in the Urals, had planned to travel to Madagascar on September 1.