‘20 Sleeping Pills in Biryani’: Shocking Andhra Murder Case Exposes Chilling Premeditation

‘20 sleeping pills in biryani’: Woman murders husband, then watches porn

It began as an ordinary dinner—biryani, a favorite comfort dish across India. But in a quiet neighborhood of Vijayawada, that meal became the prelude to a cold-blooded, meticulously planned murder. In what is now being described as one of the most disturbing cases of domestic homicide in recent memory, a 32-year-old woman and her boyfriend are accused of killing her husband by mixing **20 sleeping pills** into his food, then smothering him to death while he was unconscious .

What makes this Andhra murder case especially chilling isn’t just the method—it’s the brazenness that followed. After the husband stopped breathing, the wife reportedly spent the entire night watching porn with her lover, all while her husband’s lifeless body lay in the same room. She then called authorities, claiming he had died of a sudden heart attack. But forensic science told a far darker truth.

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The Crime: How the Murder Unfolded

According to police reports from Vijayawada, the victim—a 35-year-old private sector employee—returned home from work on the evening of January 21, 2026, unaware that his final meal awaited him. His wife, who had been having an affair with a local man for over a year, allegedly prepared biryani laced with **20 tablets of a potent sedative** (believed to be Alprazolam or a similar benzodiazepine) .

After consuming the meal, the husband quickly lost consciousness. At that point, the lover, who was hiding nearby, entered the house. Together, the couple reportedly held a pillow over the victim’s face until he suffocated. With no signs of struggle and the victim already heavily sedated, the act left minimal external evidence—initially fooling even family members.

Police Investigation and Post-Mortem Revelations

The wife immediately called emergency services, insisting her husband had collapsed due to cardiac arrest—a plausible story given rising heart-related deaths among young professionals. However, relatives grew suspicious when they noticed unusual bruising around his nose and mouth, and the fact that he hadn’t shown any prior health issues.

A mandatory autopsy was ordered, and the results were damning. The post-mortem report confirmed:

  • Presence of high-dose sedatives in stomach contents and blood
  • Petechial hemorrhages in the eyes and face—classic signs of asphyxiation
  • Compression marks consistent with pillow smothering
  • No evidence of natural cardiac pathology

Armed with this evidence, police swiftly arrested both the wife and her lover within 48 hours. During interrogation, the boyfriend reportedly confessed, revealing the full sequence of events .

Motive: Love Affair and Financial Greed

Investigators uncovered that the affair had been ongoing for more than 14 months. Text messages and call records showed frequent communication between the accused pair. But beyond romance, financial motives also played a role. The victim had a life insurance policy worth ₹50 lakh (approximately $60,000 USD), which his wife stood to inherit as the primary beneficiary.

This dual motive—emotional entanglement and monetary gain—is tragically common in spousal homicide cases across India. According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), over 20,000 wives were murdered by their husbands or in-laws in 2023—but cases where wives kill husbands, while rarer, often involve extreme premeditation .

Both accused have been charged under:

  • Section 302 (Murder) of the Indian Penal Code
  • Section 201 (Causing disappearance of evidence)
  • Section 120B (Criminal conspiracy)

If convicted, they face either life imprisonment or the death penalty, depending on whether the court deems the crime “rarest of rare.” Given the calculated nature of the act—drugging, suffocation, and staging a natural death—the prosecution is likely to push for the harshest sentence.

For more on legal precedents in similar cases, see our [INTERNAL_LINK:indian-penal-code-section-302-explained].

Broader Patterns: Domestic Violence and Premeditated Homicide

While this Andhra murder case stands out for its brutality, it reflects deeper societal issues. Experts from the [National Commission for Women](https://ncw.nic.in/) note that toxic relationships, lack of mental health support, and easy access to prescription drugs are creating dangerous combinations in households nationwide.

Sedatives like sleeping pills are often obtained without prescriptions in small towns, making them a weapon of choice in covert crimes. Public awareness and stricter pharmacy regulations could help prevent such tragedies in the future.

Public Reaction and Ethical Questions

The case has ignited fierce debate on social media. Many express horror at the wife’s actions, while others question how someone could commit such an act after years of shared life. Ethicists point to the erosion of trust within intimate relationships and warn against normalizing betrayal as mere “personal drama.”

True crime analysts also highlight the psychological profile: the perpetrators didn’t flee—they stayed, watched porn, and lied calmly. This level of detachment suggests deep emotional disconnection, possibly fueled by prolonged resentment or pathological narcissism.

Conclusion: A Warning from Vijayawada

The Andhra murder case is more than a sensational headline—it’s a stark reminder of how trust can be weaponized and how ordinary settings can hide extraordinary evil. As authorities tighten forensic protocols and communities grapple with relationship ethics, one thing is clear: justice must be swift, and prevention must begin long before the first pill is crushed into a pot of biryani.

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