A murder in Visakhapatnam, in which an Indian Navy staff allegedly killed a 28-year-old woman, has drawn comparisons with the 2022 Shraddha Walkar case due to similarities in the manner of the crime.
The accused, identified as Chintada Ravindra, allegedly dismembered the woman’s body and attempted to destroy evidence in the Gajuwaka area, a police official said on Monday.
According to police, the incident took place on Sunday, when the accused allegedly killed the victim at his residence following an altercation.
“A Navy staff (Ravindra) on Sunday killed Mounika at his residence following an altercation and later dismembered the body, disposing of the parts at different locations,” the official told PTI.
Investigators said the accused procured a knife online, used it to dismember the body, stored some parts in a refrigerator, and burnt the head and hands at a vacant site near Adavivaram.
Ravindra, who is posted at INS Dega, had been in contact with the deceased, Polipalli Mounika, since 2021 after meeting her through a dating application.
The two developed a relationship over time and met at several locations across Visakhapatnam, including parks and theatres, police said.
According to police, citing the accused’s statement, the woman had allegedly taken Rs 3.5 lakh from him and threatened to reveal their relationship to his wife, leading to frequent disputes between them.
On the day of the incident, the accused allegedly called her to his flat, where an argument escalated before he smothered her to death, the official added.
The case has drawn parallels with the killing of Shraddha Walkar in Delhi in May 2022. Walkar, 27, was strangled by her live-in partner, Aaftab Amin Poonawalla, who later dismembered her body into multiple pieces and disposed of them over several weeks.
Poonawalla was arrested in November 2022 following a police investigation, after which Delhi Police filed a 6,629-page chargesheet.
In May 2024, a supplementary chargesheet of over 3,000 pages was filed, containing additional digital and forensic evidence aimed at strengthening the case against the accused.
He is currently lodged in Tihar Jail, and the case remains under judicial process, with proceedings focused on trial and examination of evidence.