Police Try To Locate Body Parts In Musi

Hyderabad: Police resumed efforts on Monday to recover the missing body parts of five-month pregnant Swati, who was butchered and dismembered by her husband Mahender Reddy in the Medipally police limits. The accused was sent to judicial remand on Sunday night.

Officials said search teams spent nearly 10 hours on Sunday combing the Musi river at Prathapasingaram, but strong currents caused by water flow due to the recent rain made recovery difficult in the 20-foot-deep water.

On Monday, operations were extended up to 10 km downstream. “Even if we fail to recover the missing parts, we still have the torso, which will help in ascertaining the identity,” a senior officer told Deccan Chronicle.

Investigators said the torso was crucial, as DNA profiling can establish a match. “If the torso had also been disposed of, it would have been difficult to strengthen the evidence,” the officer added.

Police are yet to confirm whether Swati was dead at the time her body was hacked. The accused confessed that he struck her and then strangled her with his hands, but it remains unclear if she succumbed to the strangulation or was unconscious while being mutilated.

Army impersonator cheats priest of Rs 6 L

Hyderabad: A 52-year-old priest from Puranapool lost Rs 5,99,997 after falling victim to a cyber fraud by a caller impersonating an Army official. Cyber crime police said the priest received a call on August 23 from a man who introduced himself as Captain Aman Kumar of the Secunderabad Military Office. Claiming that a colonel was unwell, the caller said 21 priests were required for an 11-day pooja and promised an advance of Rs 3 lakh.

Later, the victim received a video call from another number. The fraudster instructed him to open PhonePe and Google Pay under the pretext of transferring the advance. To gain trust, the caller first sent Rs 10. Believing the claim was genuine, the priest followed the instructions and entered his credit card details and PIN.

Instead of receiving money, debits of Rs 2 lakh, Rs 1 lakh, Rs 5,000, Rs 1,99,997 and rS 95,000 were made, totalling Rs 5,99,997. Realising he was cheated, the priest alerted the cyber crime helpline 1930 and a case was registered with the Hyderabad cyber crime police.

Officials urged the public never to share ATM PINs, OTPs or card details on calls or video chats. They stressed that genuine advance payments or refunds never require entering PINs or OTPs and advised people to verify identities through official channels. Victims of cyber fraud can dial 1930 or report at cybercrime.gov.in.