Man kills wife, burns body and tells family she died of COVID-19

The Police found CCTV footage of the husband leaving his apartment with a similar looking suitcase than the one they found the charred body.

File photo

Hyderabad: Andhra Pradesh police on Tuesday (June 29) said they were on the lookout for a man who allegedly killed his wife, and set her corpse on fire in a suitcase to get rid of it.

Alipiri police in Tirupati found the charred body of the woman in bushes near a government hospital and with the help of forensics identified her and where she was from.

In a shocking revelation in the case, the police found that the husband had told the family that his wife died of COVID-19 and the government authorities had disposed the body.

They also found CCTV footage of the husband leaving his apartment with a similar looking suitcase than the one they found the body.

CCTV footage from the areas around the hospital show the moving around in a cab. The police picked up the cab driver and after interrogation found that he had helped the man dispose the body.

“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,” inspector Devendra Kumar told Hindustan Times.

He 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.

A man-hunt is underway to find the murderer and bring him to justice.