‘Throttled, then chopped with axe’: Malkajgiri DCP reveal chilling 5-months pregnant woman murder Details
Hyderabad: What began as a love-cum-arranged marriage in January 2024 at Arya Samaj Kukatpally between neighbours from the same Vikarabad village unfolded through months of domestic disputes, job restrictions, and escalating quarrels over a five-month pregnancy. This tragic story ended with the brutal murder of 21-year-old B. Swathi by her 27-year-old husband, Samala Mahender Reddy. He killed her by throttling and then dismembered her body, dumping the pieces in the Musi River.
Revealing the chilling details, Malkajgiri Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) P.V. Padmaja said, "The accused Samala Mahender Reddy killed his wife B. Swathi and chopped her body into pieces with an axa blade and threw them in the Musi River at Prathapsingaram village".
Going further into details, the accused Samala Mahender Reddy (27), a bike taxi aggregator, residing in East Balaji Hills, Boduppal, hailing from Vikarabad District, married B. Swathi (21) through a love-cum-arranged marriage in January 2024 at Arya Samaj, Kukatpally, and both are neighbours from the same village.
“After marriage, they shifted to Hyderabad and resided at Boduppal. They lived happily for about one month, thereafter, frequent quarrels arose between them due to family disputes. In April 2024, Swathi lodged a complaint at the Women Police Station (WPS) Vikarabad, and a domestic harassment case was registered,” said P.V. Padmaja in a press conference after the arrest of the accused.
Following which the village elders held panchayats, and the matter was compromised. From June 2024 onwards, the couple started residing in a rented house at Boduppal. The deceased worked for three months at a call centre in Punjagutta. However, due to suspicion over her movements, the accused stopped her from continuing her job, added police.
Investigation revealed that in March 2025, the deceased conceived and was five months pregnant. Even then, frequent quarrels continued between them. On 22 August 2025, the deceased informed the accused that she would go to Vikarabad on 27 August 2025 for a medical check-up and thereafter stay at her parents’ house. The accused did not agree, and a quarrel ensued. The deceased abused him, and on the same day, the accused decided to eliminate her.
As per his pre-plan, the accused purchased a grip Axa blade at Boduppal, kept it in the house, and waited for an opportunity. "On 23 August 2025 at about 16:30 hours, the accused murdered the deceased by throttling her. Thereafter, in order to conceal the evidence, he chopped the body into pieces, disposed of the head, hands, and legs by throwing them into the Musi River at Prathapsingaram, and retained the headless and legless trunk in his room", revealed Malkajgiri DCP P.V. Padmaja.
