Andhra man killed techie wife, burnt her body; told relatives she died of Covid

M Srikanth Reddy told his wife’s family that Bhuvaneshwari died of Covid-19 and hospital authorities conducted the last rites as per protocol, police said.

Hyderabad: The police in Andhra Pradesh’s Tirupati town said on Tuesday that they were on the lookout for a 30-year-old man, who allegedly killed his 27-year-old wife, stashed her body in a suitcase and set it ablaze six days ago.

Police said M Srikanth Reddy was spotted in CCTV footage taking a red suitcase out of the apartment complex. Police suspect he stashed his wife M Bhuvaneshwari’s body in the suitcase and set it ablaze six days ago. Her charred body was found on June 23 (Screengrab/CCTV video)

On June 23, Alipiri police in Tirupati found the charred body of the woman in a suitcase in bushes near Sri Venkata Ramana Ruia (SVRR) government general hospital. With the help of forensic experts, police identified the body as that of M Bhuvaneshwari, from Ramasamudram village in Chittoor district. Police said she was working as a software engineer with an IT company in Hyderabad.

Alipiri circle inspector Devendra Kumar said the woman, along with her husband M Srikanth Reddy, from Badwel in Kadapa district, and their 18-month-old daughter, had been residing in Tirupati for the last three months due to Covid-19 pandemic.

According to the police, the video footage obtained from the CCTV cameras showed Reddy entering the apartment complex with a red suitcase and after sometime, leaving the apartment, rolling it along, and carrying his daughter in one hand.

“We have launched the manhunt for Srikanth Reddy, who had been absconding since the incident happened. We are yet to gather complete details about him,” Kumar told HT.

Preliminary investigations have revealed that Reddy, also a techie, lost his job during the pandemic, which led to frequent quarrels between the wife and husband.

“He might have killed Bhuvaneshwari in a fit of rage during an argument,” a police officer said.

Before absconding, Reddy told his wife’s family that she died of Covid-19 and hospital authorities conducted the last rites as per protocol, police said.