Hyderabad, February 18 A 29-year-old woman, an employee in the software industry, was allegedly killed by her former husband at her house here on Wednesday, police said.
The victim's husband, in a complaint, stated that his wife was three months pregnant. However, police said that this has not been confirmed as the post-mortem report is awaited.
The accused, in his 30s, who previously worked as a software employee in Canada, entered the victim's residence and, after seeing her in a room, locked it from the inside and allegedly stabbed her multiple times on the head with a knife, resulting in her instant death.
The woman's mother-in-law was in the veranda of the house at the time of the incident.
After being informed by her family members and neighbors, police reached the spot and found that the accused had poured petrol into the room, which he had brought with him in a can, and had locked himself in the bathroom.
He threatened to set the room on fire with a lighter he was carrying, and after being convinced by the police officials, he came out of the bathroom and was taken into custody, a police official said.
The couple got married in 2022 and mutually divorced in 2024. She had a second marriage in April 2025, police said.
Based on preliminary investigation, police said that the accused harbored a grudge against his ex-wife as she had filed a domestic violence case against him.
Police said that after their marriage in India, the accused went to Canada, and the deceased later joined him there.
"Some differences arose between the couple, and after staying with him for five days, she later returned to India and subsequently filed a domestic violence case against him in Maharashtra," they said.
The accused came to India from Canada in March 2025 following the death of his mother, a police official said.
A Look-out Circular was issued against him due to the case, and his passport was suspended, and he has been unable to return to Canada since then and is currently residing in his native place in Peddapalli district of Telangana, without any work.
The accused felt that he and his family had suffered mental distress due to the case. He also felt that his mother's death was due to the mental anguish caused by his estranged wife, police said.
The accused developed a grudge against her and decided to eliminate her, police said. He was able to locate her residential address through her social media account and came to Hyderabad two months ago and stayed in a hostel.
He also "reconnoited" the victim's apartment recently.
According to his plan, he came to the apartment on Wednesday with a bag containing two knives, a drilling machine, a can containing five liters of petrol, among other items.
CCTV footage broadcast by local TV channels showed the man carrying a bag and walking in the corridor of the apartment.