Venice, Feb 4 (IANS): An Indian couple was taken into custody for allegedly murdering an Iranian woman and dumping her body, stuffed in a suitcase, in a Venetian canal.

The Indians, Rajeshwar Singh, 29, and Gagandeep Kaur, 30, shared a Milan apartment with the victim, Mahfab Ahadsavoji, 29, an Iranian designer, whose body was discovered last week off the island of Lido.

The Indian pair allegedly strangled Ahadsavoji to death after she refused a sexual advance by Singh, said ANSA.

They then stuffed her body inside the suitcase which had roller-wheels and took it by train to the northern city of Lecco with the intention of tossing it into Lake Como, police said.

After determining there were too many witnesses in the area, the pair opted to take the body to Venice instead, again by train, police said.

A Venice taxi driver told police they paid him 500 euros for the return trip to Milan.

According to reports, the couple undertook a 20-hour, 400-mile round trip to Venice riding on three trains and a vaporetto with the suitcase in their attempt to find a proper place to dump the body.

Police said the pair initially denied involvement, but their movements with the suitcase were allegedly captured by security cameras at the Venice train station, prompting a confession. The victim's nude body was identified by fingerprints, said the news agency.

A known costume designer in Iran, Ahadsavoji was in Milan for a two-month course at the renowned Academy of Fine Arts of Brera.

According to Rai News, Gagandeep was the girlfriend of Rajeshwar. The two worked in Milan hotels. They have been charged with the murder.