The Fiji Times

New detail in death of mum found in bin

- ■ NEWS.COM.AU

DEAD mother Chaithanya Madhagani’s husband visited her parents in India

The husband of a woman found dead inside a green waste bin in regional Victoria allegedly went to her parents’ home in India to say their daughter “is no more”.

Chaithanya Madhagani’s remains were located in a wheelie bin on a property in Buckley, southwest of Geelong, on Saturday afternoon.

Homicide Detectives then went to the 35-year-old’s family home at Point Cook in Melbourne, where a second crime scene was examined.

Victoria Police released a statement yesterday morning saying detectives wished to speak to her husband, who they believe had left the country.

“The investigat­ion into her death remains ongoing and no one has been arrested in relation to the matter,” a spokespers­on said.

“Detectives still wish to speak to a 38-year-old Point Cook man, who is the husband of the woman, however we understand this man remains off shore at this time.”

The dead woman’s husband, Ashok Raj Varikuppal­a reportedly took the couple’s four-year-old son to India following the incident.

Police are yet to interview him about his wife’s death.

Ms Madhagani’s father spoke to the Herald Sun this week detailing how Mr Varikuppal­a allegedly appeared on their doorstep in Hyderabad last weekend.

Kumar Reddy claimed his crying son-in-law handed over the couple’s son and said: “I am sorry … Chaithanya is no more”.

“We were devastated on hearing this, we didn’t know what was happening, my wife fell silent apart from continuous­ly crying,” Mr Reddy told the newspaper.

He claimed Mr Varikuppal­a told him Ms Madhagani died in an “unintentio­nal” way before he left, leaving his son with the grandparen­ts.

“We were taken aback, shocked, numb and tears were rolling down,” Mr Reddy said.

“Ashok and my daughter married 12 years ago. They have a four-and-ahalf-year-old son.

“They were happy. We never heard of any marital issues between them.”

Victoria Police said it would not be commenting on news reports to ensure informatio­n released did not impact on the homicide investigat­ion.

“Due to the seriousnes­s of the matter, there is much we unfortunat­ely cannot comment on as we don’t want to jeopardise the ongoing investigat­ion,” it said in a statement.

“This includes informatio­n about any ongoing enquiries or liaison with any other agencies here in Australia or internatio­nally, or any liaison with the victim’s family.”

Friends of Ms Madhagani, known as Swetha to loved ones, have donated to a GoFundMe page set up to cover the costs of repatriati­ng her body back to her family.

 ?? Picture: NEWS.COM.AU ?? Ashok Raj Varikuppal­a and Chaithanya Madhagani were married for more than a decade.
Picture: NEWS.COM.AU Ashok Raj Varikuppal­a and Chaithanya Madhagani were married for more than a decade.

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