Man who allowed married lover to disfigure his face with acid to pose as husband, gets caught over mutton soup

A woman from the Indian state of Telangana took inspiration from a local film when planning to murder her husband. Swati Reddy, a 27-year-old mother of two, had plotted to get rid of her spouse and have her lover take his place.

The dramatic plot began when Swati and her lover Rajesh decided to kill her husband Sudhakar Reddy, a stone-crushing unit operator. According to The New Indian Express newspaper, they clubbed the man over the head and burned his body in a nearby forest on 26 November. She then went on to pour acid on her lover's face, with his consent, to distort his features.

"Swathi would go to Rajesh for physiotherapy and, later, they started having an affair. The duo felt Sudhakar was an obstacle in their relationship and decided to eliminate him. They hatched a conspiracy to ensure Rajesh could take the place of Sudhakar and take control over [his] properties," Nagarkurnool Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) A Lakshmi Narayana told reporters.

Swati reportedly called her husband's family to inform them that he had been attacked by a group of men who had broken into their house. She said that they had poured petrol on his face and set him on fire.

The woman then transported Rajesh to a hospital where her in-laws took charge of paying for his treatment. They allegedly spent over Rs 500,000 (£5,814, $7,760) in medical bills before the victim's mother realised that the man she was tending to was not her son.

The whole plot reportedly got unravelled over a bowl of mutton soup. When the man thought to be Reddy was served mutton soup, he refused to eat it claiming he was vegetarian. Considering the husband had always been a meat eater, his family's doubts were confirmed and they realised the man was an imposter.

The family informed the police, who arrested the wife and her lover, and managed to recover Sudhakar's remains from the forest where it had been disposed.

According to The Times of India, Swati later confessed to the murder and said she was inspired by the Telugu language film Yevadu in which the lead undergoes plastic surgery to resemble another person.

Both she and her lover have been charged with murder.