Bengaluru, Jan 21 (Agencies) : A woman working in IBM has been killed by a man she befriended on social media when they met for the first time, Bengaluru police said today.

The body of Kusum Singla, 31, was found dead in her flat in south-east Bengaluru on Tuesday by her flatmate after she returned from work. She had been strangled with the cord of a laptop.

The assailant, Sukhbir Singh, was arrested from Haryana early this morning for the murder, said senior Bangalore police officer P Harisekaran.

"Within 24 hours we cracked the case and arrested the accused.. We identified the suspect from the scene of crime," he said.

Kusum Singla

Sukhbir Singh

Sukhbir Singh and Singla had met each other on social media three months ago, the officer said.

Singla had invited him home on Tuesday, but when he visited, he wanted to borrow money from her, police said.

Initially Sukhbir had asked for Rs. 50,000 and later was ready to settle for 5,000. But when she refused to pay, the two had a fight and Sukhbir strangled her in a fit of rage, police said.

The police said they tracked him through the social media, since CCTV footage from the building was not too clear.

Singla had moved to the city in August last year.