"I believe those went deeper (than) it seems."
A friend has revealed that Indian-Australian Chaithanya Madhagani, whose body was found dumped in a wheelie bin, was in an arranged marriage.
She also spoke openly with friends about the “internal problems” within her family.
Also known as Swetha, her remains were found in a green bin by a dirt road in Buckley, Australia.
Chaithanya’s husband Ashok reportedly left Australia for India with their son.
Currently, Ashok has not been accused of wrongdoing.
He called relatives in Victoria and will cooperate with the investigation.
Family friend Praveen Kumar Thopucherla had known the couple for the last seven years.
He revealed that Chaithanya was in an “arranged and love” marriage.
Mr Thopucherla said the family’s “internal problems” were public knowledge to friends.
He said: “I believe those went deeper (than) it seems.”
Since first moving to Australia as a student, Chaithanya has built her own fashion business selling traditional sarees.
She bought a home with Ashok in Point Cook, in Melbourne’s south-west, and raised a little boy.
In 2019, Chaithanya became an Australian citizen and spoke about how grateful she was for the life she was living here.
She wrote on social media: “Grateful for everything I have, everything I know, everything I am.”
According to Mr Thopucherla, the couple previously worked hard to establish careers in the IT industry “which meant they were able to set themselves up well here”.
He told Daily Mail: “She was a very happy person, her husband was like very silent and not a talker like Swetha was.”
Chaithanya doted on her young son and referred to him as the “little prince” of her life.
Crime scene investigators searched the family’s home, with detectives probing two vehicles inside the garage and checking bins located along the side of the property.
Meanwhile, Indian police spokesperson Inspector Veera Swamy, of Hyderabad, said her “husband visited the mother-in-law a few days ago and handed him his son”.
The inspector added:
“After that, he left. No one from the family has registered any complaint against anyone yet.”
“We will help in investigations if someone approaches us. As of now, we don’t know where he is as we are not investigating the case without any complaint.”
In a statement, Victoria Police said:
“It is believed the parties involved are known to one another and the offender may have fled overseas.”
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