Hyderabad: Man Kills Wife, Throws Parts into Musi

Hyderabad: Barely 18 months into their marriage which was marked by abuse, a 27-year-old man, Mahender Reddy, killed his five-month pregnant wife, Swati, 21, dismembered her body and threw parts of it into the Musi river. But he pretended that she was missing, and lodged a complaint with the police.

When the police spotted gaps in his version, they arrested him and raided the couple’s house at New Balaji Hills, Boduppal, where they found the victim’s torso wrapped in a bed sheet and ready to be disposed of.

Swati had been a victim of serial abuse, police said. She had filed a case of domestic violence and dowry harassment against her husband in April last year, three months after their marriage, with the Vikarabad women’s police station. The couple was counselled and allowed to go.

Following the domestic violence case, Swati’s parents had tried to attack Mahender Reddy and his family, but locals had stepped in to work out a compromise, police said.

Malkajgiri DCP P.V. Padmaja, briefing the media on the investigation, said Mahender Reddy and Swati, belonging to different castes, were natives of Vikarabad and had married against the wishes of their parents in January 2024.

The couple later moved to the city to take up jobs and were residing in New Balaji Hills. While Mahender Reddy worked as a bike taxi driver, Swati was employed at a call centre in Punjagutta, DCP Padmaja said.

Swati conceived, but Mahender Reddy, reportedly unwilling to have children before they were financially settled. He forced her to undergo an abortion. When she conceived again this year, he again tried to pressurise her into terminating the pregnancy. Swati refused, police said.

She had been going regularly for medical check-ups, including one on Saturday, the day she was killed. After the consultation, she had asked Mahender Reddy to drop her at her parents’ house. They apparently quarrelled on the way.

The officer added, “Mahender Reddy left at 8 am and returned home at 4 pm. He had pre-planned the murder and purchased a hacksaw blade at Boduppal before returning.”

He then murdered Swati, cut the body into pieces, and dumped some of them in the Musi river.

Later, he called his sister and claimed Swati was missing. Given the couple’s history, the sister asked a relative from Dilsukhnagar to check on him and insisted he file a police complaint.

The two initially went to the Uppal police station, but were directed to the Medipally police station, which covers Boduppal. At the police station, Mahender Reddy’s inconsistent replies raised suspicion. On close questioning, he confessed to the murder.

The police then went to their one-room kitchen house on the second floor of a building in New Balaji Hills. Inside, they found the remains of Swati’s body wrapped in a bed sheet, with bloodstains all over the bed and the room.

Police said Mahender Reddy had been preparing to dispose of the torso when he called his sister and went to the police, who soon unravelled the case.

He had severed Swati’s hands, legs, and head, packed the body parts in plastic bags, and dumped them in the Musi at Prathapsingaram in three trips, police said. Officials added that CCTV footage would be analysed to corroborate this.

To search for evidence, police called in National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) personnel and began looking for Swati’s body parts in the Musi. Officials said the river’s water flow, following recent rains, might have washed away the remains. The DCP added that DNA tests would be performed to confirm the victim’s identity.

An official told Deccan Chronicle that the police had collected the remains from the house and sent them for post-mortem examination to Gandhi Hospital mortuary. They also seized the hacksaw blade, blood samples, Mahender Reddy’s bike, and the bloodstained clothes of the couple.

Swati’s angry parents demanded strict action against Mahender Reddy. Claiming they had never accepted the marriage, they said the couple’s frequent quarrels had long worried them.