Gajuwaka murder case: Married Navy staffer killed girlfriend in friend's flat, wheeled body in trolley suitcase

Hyderabad: In a shocking new twist in the Gajuwaka murder case in Andhra Pradesh, police have established that Indian Navy Petty Officer Chintada Ravindra killed his girlfriend, Polipalli Mounika, not in his own LV Nagar apartment as he had initially confessed but in a friend's nearby flat on March 29.

Ravindra had told police the following day that he murdered Mounika during an argument at his own residence.

However, CCTV footage showed no sign of her ever entering his flat, prompting police to dig deeper and uncover the truth. The case had already sent shockwaves across the state after it emerged that the accused had dismembered the body and stored the remains in a refrigerator.

During the investigation, police found that Ravindra picked Mounika up from Marripalem on his motorcycle and took her not to his flat but to a friend's vacant apartment located roughly 100 metres away borrowing the keys under the pretext that it was his own home, apparently to conceal his marriage.

His friend, who works at a pharmaceutical company, had left for work at 7 am, leaving the flat empty. An argument broke out inside. When Mounika screamed, Ravindra covered her mouth to silence her, threw her to the ground, and fatally pressed his knee into her throat.

Sources in Gajuwaaka police said that after the killing, Ravindra walked calmly back to his own flat, retrieved a large trolley suitcase, and returned to his friend's apartment. He stuffed Mounika's body into the bag and wheeled it 100 metres back to his flat a CCTV footage capturing him strolling casually, one hand in his pocket and the other pulling the bag showing no visible anxiety.

After reaching home, he ordered knives, trash bags, and other items online. In his bathroom, he dismembered Mounika's body separating her head, torso, and lower body including her hands and legs and stored the parts in his refrigerator. He later transported some remains to a nearby cashew grove, doused them in petrol, and set them alight.

During the scene reconstruction, Ravindra reenacted the events in a manner consistent with having committed the murder in his own flat which police now believe a deliberate attempt to shield his friend from suspicion or legal complications.

Police confirmed that the friend remains entirely unaware that the killing took place in his apartment. The CCTV footage of Ravindra calmly wheeling the suitcase, combined with his eventual confession, proved crucial in cracking the case.

Ravindra and Mounika had met on a dating app in 2021 and continued their relationship even after Ravindra married in 2024.

Police are currently investigating whether Ravindra sought to end the relationship following his marriage, and whether claims that Mounika had been blackmailing him for money hold any truth. Ravindra has since been transferred to central jail after the court's permission for police custody and interrogation concluded.