35-year-old man arrested for killing Andhra woman, dismembering and dumping body in canal

The Ibrahimpatnam police in Andhra Pradesh’s NTR district on Sunday arrested a 35-year-old man for allegedly killing a 30-year-old woman, dismembering her body and dumping the remains in a cooling canal leading to the Narla Tatarao Thermal Power Station (NTTPS), police said.

The accused, Mohd Shafi of Bhavanipuram in Vijayawada, allegedly killed Valluripalli Kalyani, a native of Tadinada village in Eluru district who was staying at Mangalagiri near Vijayawada. Police said another man, Durga Rao alias Abdullah, who allegedly helped Shafi dismember and dispose of the body, is absconding.

Body found dismembered

“The body was cut into 10 pieces and dumped in the cooling canal,” assistant commissioner of police (west zone) N S V K Durga Rao said.

The case came to light on September 18 when police recovered the torso of an unidentified woman from the canal near the thermal power station. With the assistance of an NDRF team, police searched the canal and subsequently recovered the woman’s head, legs and a hand. The body parts were sent to Vijayawada government hospital for postmortem examination.

Police circulated details and photographs of the unidentified body through social media and other channels. Kalyani’s brother subsequently approached the police after recognising a tattoo on her hand, helping investigators establish her identity.

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What investigation revealed

Investigators then examined her movements, phone contacts and associations before focusing on Shafi, who runs a small mutton shop at Bhavanipuram and was known to Kalyani.

According to police, Kalyani and her husband, Ghouse Mohiddin, had a son about four years ago. Shafi, who had three daughters and had allegedly made several attempts to have a son, bought the child from the couple for ₹1 lakh and had been raising him since then, the ACP said.

Police said Kalyani later became close to Shafi and began demanding more money from him. On September 17, she told him she would come to Bhavanipuram for money. Shafi allegedly sent his wife and children to relatives in Guntur before her arrival.

Details of the murder

An argument broke out over money after Kalyani reached his house. “He told her that he would no longer be able to meet her demands but she did not accept the same. During the course of argument, he allegedly attacked her with a knife and slit her throat, killing her,” Durga Rao said.

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Shafi then allegedly contacted Abdullah, who worked at his mutton shop, to help dispose of the body. The two allegedly dismembered it and transported the remains from Bhavanipuram to the cooling canal.

Police detected bloodstains at Shafi’s residence and the Gollapudi canal and are examining forensic evidence. Call data records showed Kalyani had made 68 calls to Shafi. CCTV footage also showed her entering Shafi’s residence on the afternoon of September 17 and his movements in and out of the house later that evening, police said.

A murder case was registered on the complaint of Kalyani’s brother, and Shafi was arrested, police said.