The Delhi Police on Saturday arrested a man, who murdered his live-in partner in Mehrauli area and chopped the body into 35 pieces before dumping them at various locations across the city.
Aftab Ameen Poonawalla had strangled 26 year-old Shradha on May 18. As per sources, he then chopped her body into 35 pieces and bought a new fridge to store them and threw them at various locations in a period of 18 days.
To avoid any suspicion, he used to leave the house with a body part in a polybag at 2 a.m.
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“The matter came to light on November 8, when the missing woman’s father approached Delhi Police after she stopped responding to calls,” said police.
Shradha worked with a call centre for a multinational company in Mumbai where she met Poonawalla. The two started dating and moved in together. However, her family did not approve of their relationship following which the couple eloped and came to Delhi.
A senior police official said that Poonawalla was arrested on Saturday and on interrogation he had revealed that the duo used to fight frequently and she wanted to marry him.
“A case of murder has been registered at Mehrauli police station, ” said the official.
Aftab, Sharddha shifted to Chattarpur on May 15
Aftab Ameen Ponawalla along with his live-in partner Sharddha Walkar had shifted to the house in the Chattarpur area in the national capital on May 15, three days before he killed her, sources said.
“They had arrived in Delhi on May 8 and stayed in a Hotel at Paharganj area for a week and then shifted to Chattarpur,” said the sources.
Police teams have conducted searches in the house and have found blood stains in the kitchen.
For the second time on Tuesday morning, the police team had taken the accused Aftab Ameen Poonawala to the Mehrauli forest area to recover the remains of the body of the victim. He was first taken to the area on Monday.
DCW issued the notice to police
Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) has issued a notice to Delhi Police seeking copy of the FIR and details of the accused person arrested in connection with the murder of 26 year-old Shradhha Madan, whose body was chopped into 35 pieces by her lover in South Delhi’s Mehrauli area. The DCW said that it has taken suo-moto cognizance of the gruesome murder of the girl.
In its notice, DCW has asked police whether the boy, live-in partner of the girl, was operating alone or did he take someone’s help.
“If any complaint was submitted by the deceased girl in connection with harassment, domestic violence, sexual abuse or any other crime against the accused, please provide a copy of the complaint and action taken on the same till date,” it stated in its notice.
It has also asked police to submit a detailed report to the Commission till November 18.
The accused, Aftab Ameen Poonawalla, had strangled Shradhha on May 18.
As per sources, he then chopped her body into 35 pieces and bought a new fridge to store them and threw them at various locations in a period of 18 days.
To avoid any suspicion, he used to leave the house with a body part in a polybag at 2 a.m.
“The matter came to light on November 8, when the missing woman’s father approached Delhi Police after she stopped responding to calls,” the police said.
“This is one of the most shocking cases that I have seen during my tenure and I am surprised at the audacity of this man. He chopped her off into 35 pieces and disposed of the body parts daily at various places. Strong action should be taken against him,” DCW chief Swati Maliwal wrote on Twitter.
Palghar woman butchered in Delhi
A childhood friend of Shraddha Walkar, who was killed by her boyfriend and hacked to pieces in New Delhi, had first alerted her family in Maharashtra’s Palghar of her “missing” status in September and that kickstarted the investigations into the sensational murder, a top police official said here on Monday.
Shraddha, 29, was murdered by her boyfriend and live-in partner, who then chopped her body into some 35 pieces, stuffed them into a fridge and then scattered them across the national capital over 18 days to avoid detection.
The Delhi Police have finally cracked what turned out to be an 8-month-old macabre “missing-cum-murder” case of a love affair gone sour by nabbing the accused, Aftab Poonawala.
According to Inspector Sampatrao Patil of Manikpur Police Station in Vasai town, the woman was in a friendship and affair with the accused since 2019.
The series of events started after they had reportedly met through a friendship app, and finally culminating in her brutal killing that has shaken the Vasai town.
Later, the woman – who lived in Evershine City in Vasai East – sought her family’s permission to get married to Poonawala – who lived in Diwanman Complex in Vasai west.
However, there was strong objection from her family and Shraddha walked out of her home to go and live with Poonawala in a place in the Naigaon suburban area nearby.
Everything seemed to be normal and though estranged, she came and lived with her family for a fortnight when her mother died some time ago, and returned to Poonawala.
However, it was only in September 2022, when Laxman Nadar – Shraddha’s childhood friend – told her brother that she had gone incommunicado’ for over a couple of months.
On learning this, her father, Vikas Walkar called Nadar to his home for full details when he revealed that she had been in touch with him but for the past two-three months, her phone was off and she had shifted with Poonawala to New Delhi.
The alarmed family also tried but couldn’t contact her and Vikas Walkar submitted an application to the Vasaigaon Police Station, which directed him to Manikpur Police Station.
“We accepted the application from her father and suo moto registered a ‘missing’ complaint, and set up a special team to track her down,” Patil said.
Since there was nothing much, the police initiated a tech-intel probe to discover that Nadar’s information was correct and the family’s apprehensions were proved true.
“Since May, her phone was off, she had gone off social media like Facebook, even her bank accounts were not operated. We also called Poonawala who came to Vasai and we have recorded his full statement,” said Patil.
Poonawala admitted to the police here that he and Shraddha were live-in partners for the past few years and then moved to Delhi where they resided in the Chhattarpur area, and he was allowed to go.
The duo’s relationship apparently went sour some months ago after she demanded that they get married, enraging Poonawala who ultimately killed her.
Not convinced by Poonawala’s version, Walkar went to Delhi to search for his daughter last week and even sought help from the local police.
Meanwhile, Mira Bhayander-Vasai Virar Police Commissioner Sadanand Date is understood to have spoken with the Delhi Police Commissioner to assist in the matter.
The Delhi Police finally zeroed in on Poonawala, arrested him and he confessed to the diabolic crime that sent shockwaves among the people in the national capital and in Palghar.
Aftab Ameen Poonawalla was inspired by ‘Dexter’
The police said that after shopping his 26-year-old girlfriend, Shraddha Walker, into pieces on May 18, the accused, Aftab Ameen Poonawalla, bought a brand new refrigerator with large storage capacity the next day and stored the body pieces in it. To counter the stench, he lit incense sricks sticks at his home.
Aftab was reportedly inspired by the American crime show ‘Dexter’, which tells the story of a man with homicidal tendencies who lives a double life.
Being a trained chef, Aftab was adept at using the knife, said sources. However, the knife used in the crime is yet to be recovered.
Aftab was taken to the Mehrauli forest area by the police on Monday to collect the body parts which he had disposed of there.
He had thrown the body pieces at various locations over a period of 18 days. To avoid suspicion, he used to leave his house with a body part in a polybag at around 2 am.
NCW writes to Delhi Police chief
The National Commission for Women (NCW) on Monday wrote a letter to Delhi Police Commissioner Sanjay Arora, urging him to direct the police to conduct a fair and time-bound investigation into the case of murder of 26-year-old woman Shraddha Walker whose body was chopped into 35 pieces by her lover in south Delhi’s Mehrauli area.
The NCW has also asked the Commissioner of Police to submit an action taken report along with a copy of the medical reports of the victim within 5 days.
“The Commission is perturbed with the recent gruesome crime against a woman and condemns it in strongest possible words. You are, therefore, required to direct the concerned police to conduct a fair and time bound investigation in the matter,” the letter written by the NCW chief Rekha Sharma stated.
“NCW in exercise of its powers conferred under section 10(1)(f) of the National Commission for Women Act, 1990 is mandated to monitor and to look into complaints and take suo moto notice of matters relating to deprivation of women’s rights, non-implementation of laws enacted to provide protection to women,” the letter read.
Accused googled blood cleaning method
In order to avoid suspicion and to evade police arrest, Aftab Ameen Poonawalla read about human anatomy in order to learn how to chop a body, and did Google search on cleaning blood stains, said an official privy to investigation into the sensational Mehrauli murder case.
Aftab used Shraddha’s Instagram till June
An Investigation into the gruesome murder of Shraddha Walkar has revealed that the accused Aftab Ameen Poonawalla used her Instagram account till June to give an impression of her being alive, said an official on Tuesday.
“He was using her Instagram account to avoid any suspicion by her friends,” said an official, adding that police teams are checking his mobile phone details.
Victim’s liver, intestines disposed off first
After murdering his live-in partner Shraddha Walkar on May 18 and chopping up her body into 35 pieces, the accused Aftab Ameen Poonawala first disposed off the liver and intestines after mincing it, sources said.
“During his interrogation, Aftab revealed that the liver and intestines were the first of the body parts that he disposed off in the forest areas of Chattarpur and Mehrauli in plastic bags,” the sources said.
After searching methods to cut up a body on Google, Aftab kept the victim’s body under the shower in the bathroom so that it can be chopped easily.
“I am fond of watching crime series’ on TV and through them I came up with ideas on preserving the body parts and to avoid suspicions about her whereabouts. That’s why I kept posting on her Instagram profile after the murder. I did it all by myself,” the sources said citing his confession.
Court approves narco test of accused
The Saket Court on Wednesday approved a narco test of Aftab Ameen Poonawalla who brutally murdered his live-in partner Shraddha Walkar.
The development comes after the Delhi Police had approached the court earlier in the morning seeking a permission for the test saying that he was not co-operating in the investigation.
A day earlier, the police had also taken him to his house in Chattarpur, which he shared with Walkar, to recreate the crime.
Sources have said that when Aftab was first called for questioning, he told the investigators the victim had left the house on May 22.
Police plans psycho assessment test against Aftab
The Delhi Police is planning to conduct a psycho assessment test of Aftab Ameen Poonawalla following multiple discrepancies in his statement in connection to murdering his live-in partner, a senior official said on Wednesday.
According to the senior police official, there is a possibility that the investigators will request for the test which will help them understand Aftab’s mental health and the nature of steps he took to commit the gruesome crime.
“The test will bring out the truth and it is expected that the police teams investigating the case will conduct it after the initial probe is completed,” said the official.
