The last man to speak with the alleged wheelie-bin killer of Chaithanya ‘Swetha’ Madhagani before fleeing to India has revealed his chilling final moments before escaping justice overseas.
Ms Madhagani’s husband, Ashok Raj Varikuppala, is suspected of murdering his wife inside their Point Cook home in south-west Melbourne before fleeing the country with their four-year old son Ayra.
He still remains at large months after Ms Madhagani’s body was found in a green wheelie bin on Mount Pollock Road in Buckley, west of Geelong, Victoria at 12pm on March 8.
Now Daily Mail Australia can reveal Varikuppala calmly called a taxi to the airport from the couple’s home the Friday before his wife’s body was found.
Police allege authorities discovered the wheelie bin, 80km from the family home, based on a tip-off from her husband.
Now the taxi driver, who has asked to remain anonymous, has told Daily Mail Australia how he picked up Varikuppala that afternoon after receiving a routine fare through his taxi company.
The taxi driver said he questioned the father’s reason for his trip as he was curious why his passenger was travelling abroad with the young child.
‘Family issues,’ came the chilling two-word response.
Ashok Raj Varikuppala (left) and Chaithanya ‘Swetha’ Madhagani were married for 12 years before her body was found in a wheelie bin
Varikuppala has not been seen since he allegedly dropped his son off with Ms Madhagani’s parents at their house in the south central Indian city of Hyderabad days later.
But on the trip from the Point Cook home to Melbourne Airport, the suspected killer appeared nervous, the driver said.
He said the father had been travelling with a large suitcase and two smaller bags to the international departure point of the airport’s Terminal 2 with his young son.
But he driver admitted had no idea of the magnitude of the alleged family issues the man was now facing in Australia.
‘I thought maybe his parents were unwell and he was going over to visit them,’ he said.
Varikuppala told the cabbie he planned to return after a short visit, chatting with him about his business installing solar panels.
‘I told him I was interested in getting solar at my place and he gave me his details,’ the driver said. ‘He said you can contact my colleague while I’m away.’
Varikuppala even wrote his details down after failing to locate a business card.
The green wheelie bin that contained Ms Madhagani’s body was found in a paddock near Geelong
‘He has my details too,’ said the cabbie. ‘He said his colleague would talk to me while he was away and help sort out the panels.’
Varikuppala had no concerns about revealing his identity, booking the cab under his own name, paying by credit card and leaving his name and number with the driver.
But the driver said the husband appeared visibly shaken and rattled during the 45 minute journey.
‘He didn’t seem right. I thought he was stressed. He was nervous,’ the driver said.
‘It seemed a bit strange to me that he was travelling with a four-year old son and his wife was not there.
‘I thought maybe because of the family issues the wife stayed home and he was flying with the kid.’
Varikuppala sat directly behind the driver throughout the journey to the airport with his son strapped into the back passenger seat beside him.
Family of Chaithanya ‘Swetha’ Madhagani embrace outside her funeral in India
The boy would later be dumped on the doorstep of his grandparents’ home a world away from his house in Australia.
‘He was too young to know what was happening,’ the driver said, who was oblivious to who his passenger was until Homicide Squad detectives tracked him down the day after Ms Madhagani’s body was found.
The driver spent two hours with detectives the following Monday as they worked to pull every detail they could from the suspected killer’s final ride in Australia.
‘Fortunately I had all those records, like I had the booking number in my phone, he wrote down his details which I gave to the cops as well and also the receipt,’ he said.
‘I was on my way back to Point Cook when I got the call. I had no clue it would lead to this.’
On Friday, Victoria Police refused to comment to Daily Mail Australia over their progress of the investigation and locating the wanted fugitive.
‘This investigation remains active and ongoing – unfortunately we are not in a position to provide specific details on current enquiries or liaison with other agencies,’ a spokesman said.
The driver said police had also taken in-car CCTV footage from Varikuppala’s final ride captured from inside his taxi.
Chaithanya ‘Swetha’ Madhagani was farewelled in India. Her alleged killer remains at large
In March, more than 100 mourners gathered at the Mallapur crematorium in the Hyderabad region of India to pay their respects to the beloved mum after Ms Madhagani’s murder.
‘It is not the time to die – you were so young, what will we do without you?’ her father Balshetty Madhagani told mourners.
Loud shrieks filled the air as Ms Madhagani’s body was placed in the courtyard of her family’s home.
Another relative, Anna Swamy, said they were desperate for police to charge Ms Madhagani husband.
‘We want justice for our daughter,’ he said. ‘We don’t know where Ashok is,’ Mr Swarmy said.
‘There is no one from Ashok Raj’s family. They should have been here if they really care about their grandson.’.
Daily Mail Australia exclusively revealed that Varikuppala family had offered Ms Madhagani’s son four acres of land and to take care of and school the boy.
The Hyderabad house where Mr Varikuppala reportedly visited Ms Madhagani’s parents to apologise for what happened and drop off their grandson
Varikuppala’s parents have since visited their daughter-in-law’s home to ‘apologise’ to Ms Madhagani’s mother and father for what their son allegedly did, and offered the family four acres of land as well as an offer to take care and school the boy.
In March Ms Madhagani’s maternal grandfather K Gopal, who also lives with her parents, told Daily Mail Australia the visit ‘happened a few days ago’.
‘They wanted to take care of their grandson,’ the 80-year-old said. ‘They offered four acres of land for him.
‘They expressed regret about the incident and apologised for whatever happened. They remember Swetha as happy daughter-in-law.’
Mr Gopal said Varikuppala’s parents had already enrolled Arya in a nearby school.
He also said they had didn’t know where Varikuppala was but ‘are being told he is absconding’.
Varikuppala’s parents have reportedly offered to take care and school their grandson Ayra (pictured)
In March Victoria Police said Varikuppala was a person of interest in its investigation of Ms Madhagani’s death and that he was still overseas despite his claim he would be returning to Australia.
Ms Madhagani and Varikuppala were married for 12 years and had seemed happy by many reports from neighbours in the Point Cook suburb of Melbourne where the family had lived for three years.
However, close family friend Praveen Kumar Thopucherla – who has known the couple for seven years – told Daily Mail Australia that the family’s ‘internal problems’ were well known to friends, and described their marriage as ‘love and arranged’.
‘I believe those went deeper (than) it seems,’ he said.
