Sai Surabhi, the physiotherapist who was found dead at a Karnataka homestay and Sanjeeth Ali, a cab driver from Kerala (right). (Express/Special arrangement)A 24-year-old physiotherapist was found dead inside a homestay near Nandi Hills in Karnataka’s Chickballapur district on Monday morning, with her boyfriend lying unconscious beside her in what police suspect was a case of murder followed by an attempted suicide.The deceased has been identified as Sai Surabhi, a resident of Banashankari in Bengaluru and an employee at Satya Sai Hospital in Muddenahalli. The body was allegedly found with a rope wound around her neck, the police said.Her boyfriend, Sanjeeth Ali, an engineering graduate-turned-cab driver from Kerala’s Kozhikode and currently working in Bengaluru, is currently undergoing treatment at a hospital. Chikkaballapur Superintendent of Police Kushal Choksi said Ali is out of danger. “A diary was found from the room, and a note has been written in it. We are not sure who has written in it. Once Ali recovers, we will record his statement,” the officer added.The police said Ali had checked into the homestay, located near the foothills of Nandi Hills at Muddenahalli, on Saturday. It remains unclear exactly when Surabhi joined him.The death came to light on Monday morning after the homestay staff noticed that the couple had not checked out at the scheduled time. As repeated knocking and phone calls went unanswered, and the door remained locked from inside, the resort management alerted the police.The police team broke open the door and found Surabhi dead, with early medical signs pointing to strangulation or hanging. The police also found medical pills scattered in the room, indicating Ali may have overdosed in an attempt to take his own life.Mother alleges murderWhile the police are yet to confirm whether it was a suicide bid by the couple, Geeth, Sai Surabhi’s mother, alleged that Ali was in a relationship with her daughter, and he had murdered Surabhi. She also said that Ali had introduced her to drug consumption, harassed and assaulted her. “We had lodged a complaint case against him at the Banashankari police station. Six months ago, Surabhi went missing; we had filed a complaint then too. Surabhi was sent to a rehabilitation centre in Mysuru, and we had made all efforts to keep Ali away from her,” said Geetha.The police have registered a murder case.