Kochi | A 22-year-old woman was stabbed to death allegedly by her male companion at a hotel room in Kaloor in this port city late last night, police said on Thursday.

The accused, Naushid (30), was taken into custody soon after the murder and his arrest was recorded today, they said.

The victim was identified as Reshma, a native of Changanassery in the central Kerala district of Kottayam, while the accused Naushid (30) hails from Balussery in the northern district of Kozhikode, they said. Reshma met Naushid through social media some years ago.

According to the police, Naushid and Reshma were staying in a hotel room where Naushid had been working as a caretaker for some years.

"The duo had an argument inside the hotel room last night and he suddenly stabbed her all over the body using a knife," a top police officer told PTI.

Another employee of the hotel, who listened to the noises coming from the room, informed the police, who arrived at the spot soon.

Though the victim was rushed to a nearby private hospital, she was

declared brought dead by the doctors there.

The accused didn't admit to the crime initially but he confessed later in a detailed interrogation, the officer said.

"As per his statement, they were in a relationship for some years. But recently he developed some doubts that Reshma was performing some black magic to make him weak," he said.

Before the brutal murder, he "questioned" Reshma in detail about this and recorded her conversation on his mobile phone, which was recovered by the police later.

Naushid will be produced before a court soon, police added.