Mystery shrouds Vizag woman's death on beach

Visakhapatnam, April 27: The Visakhapatnam police continued investigation into the death of a pregnant woman whose semi-naked body was found under suspicious circumstances on the YMCA beach here.

Though the woman, who had left the house after an argument with in-laws, is suspected to have committed suicide, but the circumstances in which the body was found raised doubts about the cause of the death.

The body of Swetha (24), who was five-month pregnant, was found on the beach in the early hours of Wednesday.

She had left her house in the Pedagantyada area on Tuesday evening following an altercation with her in-laws.

Her husband Manikanta, who works as a software engineer in Hyderabad, told police that he spoke to her over phone around 6.15 p.m. He tried to persuade her to return home saying small issues come up in every family. He also advised her to think about the child. However, she disconnected the call and later switched off the phone. The software engineer said he sent messages to her not to take any action in haste.

Manikanta's family lodged a missing complaint with Newport Police Station. He also left for Visakhapatnam from Hyderabad and on reaching the port city, he came to know about Swetha's body being found on the beach.

Police said they found no injury marks on the body. The autopsy report is expected to help police in identifying the cause of the death.

Police were also scanning the CCTV footage to find out if the woman went to the beach alone or was accompanied by somebody. The investigators were also trying to ascertain how and when she reached the beach.

Since the movement of people continues at the beach till 11 p.m., there is no possibility of the woman committing suicide without being noticed by others. Moreover, Beach Patrolling police, Rakshak teams and Beach Guards also patrol the area.

The body was found around 2 a.m. in semi-naked condition and partially buried in the sand, which raised several question marks for the investigators.

Swetha's mother Ramadevi lodged a complaint with the police blaming in-laws for her death. She alleged that they harassed Swetha for dowry and that her husband had threatened to divorce her.

Police have registered a case under section 498A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) against Swetha's husband and in-laws.

Swetha, who was in the process for preparing for civil services exams, had married Manikanta a year ago.