A year after Chaithanya Madhagani's body was found, her community is demanding justice

A year after Chaithanya 'Swetha' Madhagani's body was found in a wheelie bin, her friends are still waiting for answers, with one saying women in the community are scared that "men can take a woman's life" and evade justice.

Ms Madhagani, who lived in Point Cook with her husband and son, was 35 when her body was found near Geelong beside a dirt road a year ago.

Shortly after her death, her husband, Ashok Raj Varikuppala, flew to India.

Ms Madhagani's father Balsetty Madhagani, who lives in Hyderabad, last year told the ABC Mr Varikuppala arrived at his doorstep days later and confessed to killing Ms Madhagani during an argument.

"As soon as he arrived, he told us that my daughter has died by mistake during a quarrel between them," Mr Madhagani said.

"He then said that he panicked and brought his son to India. He admitted to his mistake and apologised to us while giving away his son to us."

Early in the investigation, Victoria Police named Ms Madhagani's husband as a person of interest.

In March last year, then-chief commissioner Shane Patton outlined the steps police could take when an investigation involved an overseas suspect.

"I'll speak generally, whenever we have a person of interest or suspect who is not in Australia, we would either send someone over there in due course or seek to go and interview them if the evidence wasn't sufficient," he said.

Since then, no arrest has been made.

Friends ask 'what are the police doing?'

Ms Madhagani's friend Amy*, who requested her name be changed for safety reasons, said the events of March last year had changed her forever.

"I'm not the same person like how I was before," she said.

"Till today, there is not even a single day I don't think of her."      

She said it was "frustrating" that a year had passed without any update on the investigation into her friend's death.

"What are the police doing?" she asked.

She said the case had left a lasting impact on women in her community.

"They were saying, 'OK, so men can just take away a woman's life and they can fly overseas, and justice is not served,'" she said.

"This is how pathetic the system is."

Victoria Police has told the ABC "the investigation into Swetha's death remains very much active and a priority for Homicide Squad detectives".

It said investigators still wanted to speak to her husband, "however (they) understand this man remains offshore".

The Victorian government also called for Mr Varikuppala's extradition.

"All women have the right to live safely, freely and without fear of family violence. In Victoria, this is not negotiable," a government spokesperson said.

Community urges police to open up on investigation's progress

Former Telugu Association of Australia president Raja Ramesh Reddy met Ms Madhagani a week before her death at a children's event.

He said the apparent lack of progress on the police case was a blow for all victims of domestic violence.

"Domestic violence is … a widespread issue all over Australia," he said.

"If you see the stats, [there are] 94,000 cases [a year] in Victoria. That number [is] concerning.

"When we hear this kind of a news, we really want justice served immediately."

Mr Reddy said the incident had really impacted the whole community.

He said there was a lot of stigma surrounding domestic violence in some migrant communities.

"There is a fear of [losing] visa, financial freedom, fear of bringing family shame," Mr Reddy said.

He said seeing "justice for Swetha's case" would help give the community confidence to speak about the issue and focus on prevention.

The executive chairman of the Melbourne Telangana Forum, Praveen Kumar Thopucherla, helped organise a vigil for Ms Madhagani after her death.

He said community members were asking him for updates and he was frustrated at having nothing to tell them.

He said police needed to provide an update to give people faith in Australia's law and justice system.

"It is not a small crime, it has shocked and shaken the whole community," he said.

While acknowledging the "significant public interest" in the case, Victoria Police said it was "not able to provide information about any ongoing enquiries or liaison with any other agencies here in Australia or internationally".

"We undertake to provide more information to the public when it is appropriate to do so," it said.

Ms Madhagani worked as a food safety regulation expert at Ashbury consultancy, where colleagues mourned the loss of a "charismatic, confident, warm and empathetic" workmate.

In a recent online tribute, Ashbury's managing director, James Post, said Ms Madhagani, also known as Tanya, remained "greatly missed".

"Words still cannot convey how much we continue to be devastated by this senseless act," Mr Post said.

"We owe it to Tanya to stand together to support the women and children subjected to domestic violence. 

"We miss her greatly and hope justice prevails for Tanya."

Police need strong evidence to extradite suspect

Donald Rothwell, an international law professor at Australian National University, said Victoria Police needed strong evidence before they could issue an Interpol red notice for extradition.

"An Interpol red notice … is really a notification to all police forces and members … around the world, that the Victorian police are seeking the extradition of a fugitive," Professor Rothwell said.

He said police forces needed to be "extremely confident" their evidence would withstand potential legal challenges in other countries before issuing a red notice.

For any extradition process, Victoria Police would need to submit a brief of supporting documents to the federal Attorney-General's Department for approval, and it would then be sent on to authorities in India to consider.

Professor Rothwell said there were multiple factors affecting the length of time for extraditions.

"At which point, they can then consent to extradition, in which case it can proceed quite quickly.

"Or … they might contest extradition before the local courts, which could see the matter drag out over a number of years."

'Confident woman' taken from friends

Meanwhile, the community continues to grieve Ms Madhagani, who Amy remembers as a very social person.

"She was a very confident and bold woman," Amy said.

In their last conversation, Amy said they had spoken about future plans.

"She was laughing, very happy," Amy said.

"It's hard to believe she is gone. We meet with other friends, but it's not the same.

"I don't want to celebrate anything, thinking the same thing could happen to other women. Justice is not served, so it is not safe anymore."