An Indian-Australian mother whose body was found dumped in a rubbish bin had an arranged marriage and spoke openly to friends about the “internal problems” her family was facing, friends have revealed.
The remains of 30-year-old Chaithanya ‘Swetha’ Madhagani were found in a green bin along a dirt road in Buckley, west of Geelong, in regional Victoria, about noon on Saturday.
Swetha’s husband, Ashok, had reportedly left Australia for India, leaving their three-year-old son Arya with the deceased woman’s mother. He called relatives to let them know where the child was.
Close family friend Praveen Kumar Thopucherla – who has known the couple for seven years – told Daily Mail Australia that Ms Madhagani had an “arranged and loving” marriage.
Mr Thopucherla said the family’s “internal problems” were well known to friends. “I believe they went deeper than it seems,” he said.
Ashok Raj Varikuppala (left) and Chaithanya ‘Swetha’ Madhagani had an ‘arranged and love’ wedding. He was “quiet” while she was “happy” and bubbly, friends said
The couple above doted on their young son, calling him ‘the little prince’ on social media
The green waste bin was found half-hidden in rural bushland
Since moving to Australia for a better life, Swetha had built her own fashion business selling traditional Indian saris – a dream she says was “six years” in the making.
She had bought a house with Ashok in Point Cook, south-west Melbourne, and was raising a young son.
In a photo obtained by Daily Mail Australia from 2019, she smiled happily as she finally became an Australian citizen.
And she spoke publicly about how grateful she was for the life she lived here.
“Grateful for everything I have, everything I know, everything I am,” she wrote on social media.
The couple had previously both worked hard to build careers in the IT industry “which meant they could establish themselves well here,” Mr Thopucherla said.
‘She was a very happy person, her husband was very quiet and not much of a talker like Swetha.’
Swetha doted on her son and called him the ‘little prince’ of her life on social media.
The couple’s son holds up an Australian flag
The couple featured in a series of social photos to mark their wedding anniversary
Crime scene investigators swarmed the family’s Mirka St home on Sunday. with detectives examining two vehicles in the garage and checking bins along the side of the property.
An Indian police spokesperson – Inspector Veera Swamy at Kushaiguda police station in Hyderabad – told the media that Swetha “The man visited the mother-in-law a few days ago and handed over his son.
‘Then he left. No one from the family has filed a complaint against anyone yet.
‘We help with investigations when someone approaches us. At this point, we don’t know where he is because we don’t investigate the matter without any complaint.”
Victoria Police said in a statement on the mother’s death: “It is believed the parties involved know each other and the perpetrator may have fled overseas.”
The Australian Federal Police said it was aware of the incident. Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.