Tattoo clue cracks Andhra murder case after woman’s body cut into 9 pieces, dumped in canal

A tattoo on a woman’s hand helped police identify her after her body was found in pieces in a canal in Andhra Pradesh's Vijayawada, leading investigators to a butcher who allegedly killed her following a dispute over money, police said.

The deceased was identified as Kalyani after details of the unidentified body found in Ibrahimpatnam were circulated on social media. Her relatives reportedly recognised the tattoo on her hand and approached the police, helping investigators establish her identity, the Times of India reported.

The investigation then led police to Shafi, a butcher from Bhavanipuram who runs a small mutton shop, the report further added.

Police found that Shafi and Kalyani had been closely associated and reportedly had disputes over money. An earlier disagreement involving Kalyani’s son had also allegedly strained their relationship.

Also Read: Bengaluru man kills wife, dumps body in vacant plot; civic workers find it days later

What happened on Sept 17

According to the investigation, Shafi took Kalyani to his house in Bhavanipuram on September 17. A quarrel reportedly broke out between them over money, following which Shafi allegedly attacked her with a knife and slit her throat.

Police suspect that Shafi then cut Kalyani’s body into nine pieces. With the assistance of Guruvulu, who worked at his mutton shop, he allegedly transported the remains.

The body parts were allegedly dumped in the Cooling Canal in the Gollapudi area.

Police detained Shafi and Guruvulu and are questioning them over their alleged involvement in the case.

Investigators are probing the exact motive, the individual roles of the two suspects and how the body was transported and disposed of.

In a similar incident in Bengaluru, a 32-year-old man from Odisha allegedly kept his wife’s body inside their home for three days after killing her during an argument over finances, before wrapping it in a bedsheet and dumping it at a vacant plot.

The accused, Sagar Chandra Rawat, was arrested more than three weeks after the highly decomposed body of his wife, Anusuya, was found at a vacant plot in MS Nagar near Sampigehalli, police said, according to news agency PTI.

According to police, Sagar and Anusuya had an argument over finances on August 11. Sagar allegedly assaulted and strangled his wife during the argument, resulting in her death due to suffocation.