HYDERABAD: A 35-year-old woman identified as B Jyothi hailing from Karnataka was found murdered at her rented house in Rajendranagar here.
The incident came into light after the owner of the house noticed a foul smell emanating from her house and alerted the police.
Police found her decomposed body with injuries on head and neck. Her alleged partner Srikanth is suspected to be behind the murder, police said.
According to police, Jyothi had separated from her husband and moved to Hyderabad around two years ago, along with her two daughters. They are residing at Attapur. The elder daughter is studying in a government hostel at Kishanbagh, while the younger daughter Navya (8) is with Jyothi.
Jyothi working as domestic help, had reportedly developed a relationship with Srikanth, a driver. He started harassing her to send away her daughters, but she refused resulting in frequent quarrels between them. Srikanth often abused and beat her. On one occasion, her family members intervened and tried to compromise, but Srikanth continued to harass her.
On Thursday, her body was found inside, with doors of the house locked from outside. Police suspect that Srikanth visited her on Tuesday and killed her. Inquiries revealed that Navya returned from school and found the house locked.
She played with friends and slept at a friend’s house. On Wednesday she inquired in the locality and went to school in the evening to meet Jyoti’s sister. As Jyoti’s elder sister Rekha’s son is also studying in the same school, she would come to school every day to pick him up.
On Wednesday Rekha also inquired about Jyothi and tried calling her on mobile, but in vain. She informed Jyothi’s neighbors that she is taking Navya to her house and asked them to inform if Jyothi returns. Police registered a murder case and started investigation.