The family members of pregnant woman, Swathi, who was mercilessly murdered by her husband, Mahender Reddy, in Hyderabad, refused to take her torso for cremation. Her body part is currently in the Gandhi Hospital mortuary.
Staging a protest in front of Mahender’s house at Kammareddyguda village in Vikarabad on Monday, August 25, the aggrieved family members insisted he perform the cremation of his wife. However, no one from inside came out.
Swathi, a resident in the Boduppal area of Medipally, was strangulated by Mahender on August 23 after the couple had an argument. As she lay unconscious, he chopped her into pieces using an axe and then dumped her body parts into the Musi River.
He made three trips to the river.
The following day, on Sunday, Mahender and Swathi’s uncle went to lodge a missing complaint. However, during questioning, police found inconsistencies in his answers, leading to his confession and subsequent arrest.
Forensic experts and the clues team found her torso, sans legs, arms and head, from the house.
The couple, who had a love marriage in 2024, belonged to different caste communities. Soon after, they shifted to Boduppal area in Hyderabad. While Mahender worked as a driver with a ride-sharing app, Swati was a call centre employee.
Swati had previously filed a police complaint against her husband, alleging harassment and cruelty. She had also suffered a miscarriage.
The gruesome murder shocked Hyderabad residents.
| Edited by Veena Nair | 
