This is an archive article published on January 23, 2025
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Hyderabad woman’s murder: probe hits roadblock; police say ‘can’t go by mere claims’
The Hyderabad woman went missing on January 16, and her parents and husband approached the police two days later.
The police are corroborating forensic and technical evidence to establish the claims of Gurumurthy, an ex-serviceman from Andhra Pradesh’s Prakasam district, about what happened to his wife P Venkata Madhavi. (Express Photo)
The Rachakonda police in Hyderabad said Thursday their investigation into the alleged murder of a 35-year-old woman by her husband, who claims to have killed her, has hit a roadblock with no body part recovered so far.
According to the Rachakonda police, Gurumurthy confessed to having committed the crime on Wednesday and claimed he killed his wife, P Venkata Madhavi, cooked her body parts, and dumped them in various locations, including in the Jillelaguda Lake. The police said they have recovered a pressure cooker, water heater, and knives.
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According to sources, Gurumurthy claimed to have hit her against a wall, leading to her instant death. He used kitchen knives to chop her body into pieces and initially boiled the parts. (Express Photo)
“We cannot go by mere claims. We are collecting all technical and scientific pieces of evidence. The case is under investigation,” G Sudheer Babu, Commissioner, Rachakonda police, told indianexpress.com.
The police are corroborating forensic and technical evidence to establish the claims of Gurumurthy, an ex-serviceman from Andhra Pradesh’s Prakasam district, about what happened to his wife, who had earlier been reported missing since January 16.
No arrest has been recorded in the case as of Thursday evening.
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As they continue to interrogate Gurumurthy, the Meerpet police believe he murdered Madhavi in a fit of rage and did everything possible to avoid the crime being detected.
“As of now, we don’t have any reasons to believe it was a premeditated crime. It seems like the result of a petty quarrel. We are questioning the suspect and we have not recovered any body parts. We do not have enough clues,” Ch Praveen Kumar, Deputy Commissioner of Police, told indianexpress.com in the evening.
Sources said Gurumurthy claimed to have hit her against a wall, leading to her instant death. He used kitchen knives to chop her body into pieces and initially boiled the parts. He cooked them in a pressure cooker for five to six hours and used a mortar and pestle to grind the bones. He threw the flesh and the powdered bones in different localities, including the nearby lake.
On January 18, Madhavi’s parents, along with Gurumurthy, approached the Meerpet police with a complaint. The police registered a missing person case, and started an investigation. Gurumurthy told the police Madhavi left home in a fit of rage after a quarrel between the two on the morning of January 16. During their investigation, the police grew suspicious of the husband and questioned him.
The police are corroborating forensic and technical evidence to establish the claims of Gurumurthy, an ex-serviceman from Andhra Pradesh’s Prakasam district, about what happened to his wife P Venkata Madhavi. (Express Photo) 
According to sources, Gurumurthy claimed to have hit her against a wall, leading to her instant death. He used kitchen knives to chop her body into pieces and initially boiled the parts. (Express Photo)
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