Hyderabad horror: Man tracks ex-wife online, breaks in, stabs her to death

Dubai: A man allegedly stabbed his former wife to death at her residence in Hyderabad after months of resentment over a domestic violence case that, according to police, had upended his life and prevented him from returning to Canada.

Police said the accused, who is in his 30s, barged into the woman’s apartment on Wednesday armed with knives and carried out what investigators described as a premeditated attack.

The victim, a 29-year-old IT company employee, was found with multiple stab wounds to the head. Authorities believe the assault was driven by a long-standing grudge stemming from a domestic violence complaint filed against the accused.

According to media reports, including those by NDTV and Hindustan Times, the accused had travelled to Hyderabad weeks earlier and had been staying at a hostel while tracking the woman’s movements.

Police said the couple married in 2022 in India. The man later moved to Canada for work, and the woman joined him there. However, differences soon surfaced between them.

“After staying with him for just a few days, she returned to India and subsequently filed a domestic violence case in Maharashtra,” an official said.

The couple mutually divorced in 2024. The woman remarried in April 2025.

Investigators said the accused returned to India in March 2025 following the death of his mother. A Look-out Circular had been issued against him in connection with the domestic violence case, leading to the suspension of his passport.

Unable to leave the country, he remained in Telangana’s Peddapalli district without employment, police said.

Authorities added that the accused blamed his former wife for his personal and family hardships. He also believed, police said, that the legal dispute had contributed to his mother’s death — a claim investigators noted was rooted in his personal perception rather than established fact.

Police said the accused developed a deep resentment and began plotting the killing. He allegedly located the victim’s address through her social media accounts and moved to Hyderabad approximately two months ago.

“He had conducted reconnaissance of the apartment prior to the incident,” an officer said.

On Wednesday, the accused arrived at the woman’s residence carrying a bag containing two knives, a drilling machine, and a can with petrol.

Investigators said he forced his way into the apartment, entered the room where the woman was present, and locked it from the inside before launching the fatal assault.

Family members alerted authorities after the attack. Responding officers reached the scene to find the accused had poured petrol across the room and locked himself inside the washroom.

Police said he threatened to set the room on fire using a lighter he was carrying, Hindustan Times reported.

“After prolonged persuasion, the accused emerged from the washroom and was taken into custody,” a police official said.

In his complaint, the woman’s second husband stated that she was three months pregnant. Police said this claim has not yet been confirmed and that a post-mortem examination is awaited.

CCTV footage broadcast by local television channels showed the accused walking through the apartment corridor carrying a bag shortly before the incident.