An English teacher asked her husband for a divorce and custody of their son before he allegedly murdered her and locked her body in a dumpster.
Chaithanya ‘Swetha’ Madhagani, 35, lived in Point Cook, in Melbourne’s south-west, with her husband Ashok Raj Varikuppala, 38, and their four-year-old daughter Ayra until March 8, when she was allegedly suffocated and dumped in a green bin.
By the time her remains were discovered about 80 kilometres away in Buckley, Varikuppala had already fled to India with her son and had allegedly told his parents that he was responsible for her death.
According to the Herald of the SunHe said, ‘I regret what I did, Chaithanya is no more, I killed her.’
Mr Varikuppala offered his parents four acres of land to look after Ayra and send him to school. He has not returned to Australia.
Now a close relative of Ms Madhagani has revealed that a major source of tension in their 12-year marriage was that he wanted to return to India and she wanted to stay in Australia.
“She wanted a divorce… but she wanted to have her child with her, something Ashok would not accept,” they told the publication.
“He didn’t think she could take care of the child since she didn’t have a permanent job either.”
In the photo: Ashok Raj Varikuppala with his wife, Chaithanya ‘Swetha’ Madhagani, and their son Ayra.
Chaithanya ‘Swetha’ Madhagani (pictured) allegedly died of suffocation in March
A murder investigation has been launched after the body of Chaithanya ‘Swetha’ Madhagani was found in a rubbish bin at his home in Buckley (pictured)
On both occasions the young family has visited India since moving to Melbourne, the relative said he saw them fighting and urged Mr Varikuppala to leave his wife.
They said the marriage was not arranged and the couple was together for 17 years, but Varikuppala’s family never fully accepted Madhagani.
“It’s very sad what happened,” he said.
‘A life was lost. She was not nice to our family, but he always loved her.’
Both families are devastated and worried about the boy’s well-being as he now has to live without his parents.
In March, more than 100 people gathered at Mallapur crematorium in Hyderabad to pay their respects to Ms Madhagani.
Her father, Balshetty Madhagani, told the crowd: “This is not the time to die. You were so young, what will we do without you?”
Another relative, Anna Swamy, said they were desperate for the police to charge Ms Madhagani’s husband.
Varikuppala’s parents have reportedly offered to care for and educate his grandson Ayra (pictured).
Police raided the house in Point Cook (pictured) after Madhagani’s body was found near Geelong
“We want justice for our daughter,” she said.
The couple had moved to Australia in search of a better life.
Ms. Madhagani started her own business selling saris, a dream she had had for six years.
She became an Australian citizen in 2019, saying on social media at the time: “Grateful for everything I have, everything I know, everything I am.”
In a GoFundMe campaign, she was remembered as an “amazing woman and an even better mother.”
“She had a heart of gold and touched the hearts of everyone who knew her. There was never a dull moment in her presence.”
In March, Victoria Police said Varikuppala was a person of interest in their investigation into Madhagani’s death and was still overseas despite his claim he would return to Australia.
Varikuppala allegedly left his son with Ms Madhagani’s parents at their home in the south-central Indian city of Hyderabad before disappearing.
His parents have since visited the same property to “apologise” to Ms Madhagani’s mother and father for what their son allegedly did, offer them and Ayra four acres of land and also care for and educate the child.
“They wanted to take care of their grandson,” said Madhagani’s maternal grandfather, K Gopal.
‘They offered him four acres of land.
‘They expressed their regret for the incident and apologized for everything that happened.
‘They remember Swetha as a happy daughter-in-law.’
Mr Gopal said Varikuppala’s parents had already enrolled Arya in a nearby school.
He also said they did not know where Mr Varikuppala was, but “they were told he was on the run”.
