In a horrific crime that has shocked Hyderabad, a man was arrested for murdering his pregnant wife, dismembering her body with an axe, and dumping the pieces into the Musi River. The accused, Mahender Reddy, a ride-sharing app driver, allegedly committed the brutal act at their home in Boduppal on Saturday evening.
The victim, 25-year-old Swati, worked at a call center. The couple had been married for only a year and a-half. Their relationship was reportedly strained, marked by frequent arguments. In a tragic precursor to the murder, Swati had previously filed a harassment case against her husband. However, she withdrew the complaint following police counselling.
According to Deputy Commissioner of Police P. V. Padmaja, the gruesome crime unfolded after Mahender Reddy killed his wife. He then used an axe blade to sever her head, hands, and legs. In a cold-blooded effort to dispose of the evidence, he made three separate trips to the Musi River under the cover of night to discard the body parts, which he carried in a plastic bag.
To cover his tracks, Mahender Reddy later contacted his sister-in-law, Chandrakala, and falsely reported that Swati had gone missing. Chandrakala, aware of the couple’s tumultuous relationship, grew suspicious. She alerted their maternal uncle, Goverdhan Reddy, who immediately went to the couple’s residence.
Upon his arrival, Mahender Reddy maintained his story, claiming Swati had left the house and never returned. The two men then went to the Medipally Police Station to officially file a missing person’s report. It was there that his plan began to unravel.
The attending police officer,敏锐的 (mǐnruì de – sharp) to inconsistencies in Mahender Reddy’s account, subjected him to intense questioning. Under interrogation, his story fell apart, and he ultimately confessed to the murder and the gruesome details of the disposal.
Police have registered a case and arrested Mahender Reddy. Forensic teams scouring the crime scene recovered only the victim’s torso from the house, which has been sent for DNA confirmation. A massive search operation, involving the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) and the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), is underway to recover the remaining body parts from the Musi River.
The case has cast a stark light on the extreme dangers of domestic violence and the fatal consequences it can have, even after official intervention.
