In a shocking incident, a woman’s body, aged around 25 years, was found stuffed inside a plastic drum at a house in Vikalangula colony in Visakhapatnam’s Madhurawada in Andhra Pradesh. Based on preliminary investigation, police suspect that the woman was murdered and then stuffed inside the drum around one and a half years ago. No arrests have been made as yet.
Speaking to TNM, PM Palem Circle Inspector said, “The owner opened the lock of the house nearly one and a half years after his tenant left in July 2021. A drum was found in which the body of the woman was packed inside a blanket and then a plastic cover. The cover was placed inside a plastic drum and sealed using packing tape. We have formed five special teams to identify the woman and search for the man who had stayed in the house.”
According to the police, they are verifying with other police stations of any missing woman complaints that were lodged around the same time. They are also trying to locate the tenant, Rishi, aged around 27, who earlier stayed in this house. Rishi and his wife were staying in the house owned by Nanduri Ramesh.
On Sunday night, Visakhapatnam Commissioner CH Srikanth had told media, “The said case has come to light from Maduravada of Visakhapatnam when the owner of the house forcibly entered the house to clear the belongings present in the house. In June 2021, the tenant vacated the house without clearing the dues citing his wife's pregnancy. But it is said that he had come to the house through the back door once later but yet hadn't paid the owner. After waiting for over one year, the owner forcibly entered the house to clear the belongings of the tenant when he found body parts of a woman inside a drum.” The Commissioner had initially suspected that the woman could have been the tenant’s wife. But later it was clarified that it wasn’t the tenant’s wife.
The police have booked a case under Sections 302 (Murder) and 201 (Destroying evidence of a crime committed) of the Indian Penal Code. Police have formed five special teams and are investigating the case.