A woman's chopped-up body parts were found stuffed inside the refrigerator of her home in India.

Mahalakshmi, 29, was discovered when neighbours reported a foul stench coming from her one-bedroom apartment before family members checked on her in Karnataka on September 21.

The smell led them into the kitchen, where more than 50 pieces of her dismembered body parts were kept, and police were called to the scene.

Footage shows investigating officers outside the building while shocked neighbours gathered in the streets nearby.

West Zone Commissioner of Police Satheesh Kumar said: ‘A woman's body was found chopped into pieces and stored in a fridge at a house within the Vyalikaval police station limits.

‘The body has been identified. The investigation is ongoing, and further details will be provided as it progresses. Although originally from another state, she had relocated to Karnataka.'

Using a spare key, relatives opened the house and found the floor was sticky and thick with a foul smell.

Police said the house was clean except for blood dripping from the appliance, so they suspect she had been killed elsewhere.

A suitcase was also found beside her sleeping mat, and officers are verifying if that was used to transport her body.

An investigating officer said: ‘We suspect she had been killed more than ten days before her body was found. There were no blood stains in the toilet, the bedroom, and the hall.'

When she was found, her ex-husband Hermant Das was contacted by police, but he said they had been separated nine months ago and last saw her last month when she came to his shop to see their daughter.

Hermant said: ‘We were married for six years and separated nine months ago due to differences.'

He added his wife had a lover whom she fought with and complained to the police for blackmailing her, but officers did not reveal who their prime suspect was.

Bengaluru Police Commissioner Dayananda said: ‘I cannot reveal more details of the investigation, but he is not from the Karnataka state.'