Shraddha Walkar was killed on May 18, police said. Aaftab Poonawala has been arrested for the murder.A LOVE story that began near Mumbai in 2019 came to a chilling end inside a rented one-room flat in Delhi, where a 28-year-old man allegedly strangled his 27-year-old live-in partner, chopped her body into over 30 parts and spent the next two-three months dumping them in a forested area nearby, according to police officers.
Police have arrested the accused, Aaftab Poonawala, and identified the victim as Shraddha Walkar. Both of them hail from Vasai in Maharashtra’s Palghar district and had shifted to Delhi this year.
According to police, the murder took place on May 18. But the crime and its gruesome details, police sources said, came to light only on Saturday when the accused was arrested from the flat in south Delhi’s Mehrauli.
Accused Aftab Poonawaala Poonawala, a call centre employee, allegedly told the police he was inspired by the US TV series Dexter where the main character, a serial killer, chops up his victims.
According to police, Walkar used to stay with her mother, who died in 2020, and younger brother before she moved out to stay with Poonawala in 2019. Her parents are separated. It wasonly on October 6 that her father filed a missing person complaint at the police station in Vasai near Mumbai — after Walkar’s friends informed him that she had been incommunicado.
On October 12, the police in Manikpur took over the case, and questioned Poonawala over the phone. They asked him to come from Delhi and recorded his statement on November 3, when he claimed that Walkar had left after an argument in May and that he lived alone.
On a table, a bowl of potpourri still remained, used to mask the stench. (Express photo by Jignasa Sinha) Assistant Inspector Sachin Sanap, who recorded the statement, found “some discrepancies” and informed Delhi Police about the case. On November 8, Sanap went to Delhi, following which Delhi Police summoned Poonawala for questioning. “During questioning, we confronted him with our findings, after which he broke down,” Sanap told The Indian Express.
The woman’s family came to Delhi this month searching for her and found she was not present at her rented house in Mehrauli. Ankit Chauhan, Additional DCP (South), Delhi Police, said, “During the course of sustained interrogation, Aaftab disclosed that he and the deceased were in a live-in relationship since 2019. They had met each other through a dating app, and had frequent fights. They had visited hill stations in March and April, and thereafter decided to stay in Delhi. On the day of the incident, the accused strangulated the deceased, cut the body into many parts and disposed of them over a long period.”
The two had submitted their ID cards to the landlord, but most neighbours never saw the woman since she was there for just three days before she was killed. (Express photo by Jignasa Sinha) According to police, the families of the couple were opposed to their relationship, which prompted them to move in together. The Delhi Police FIR quotes Walkar’s father as saying: “My daughter told my wife in 2019 that she wants to be in a live-in relationship with Aaftab Poonawala… my wife and I told her not do because I am Hindu and… that boy is Muslim. We don’t do inter-religion/ inter-caste marriage…”
Poonawala, a call centre employee, allegedly told the police he was inspired by the US TV series Dexter where the main character, a serial killer, chops up his victims. The couple moved into the rented accommodation in Mehrauli on May 15 — after backpacking in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand — and the woman was killed just three days later, police said.
“Poonawala told us they often got into heated arguments. In May, they again fought, and he strangled her,” said an investigating officer, adding that the accused then began the process of disposing of the body.
A shopkeeper said he would see Aftaab regularly but there was nothing suspicious about him. (Express photo by Jignasa Sinha) According to police, he initially kept the body at the house for a couple of days. An investigating officer said Poonawala hacked Walkar’s body and kept the parts in small black polybags. “He also bought a new fridge and a saw that he used to chop the body,” he said.
To dispose of the parts, he walked to dumping yards, cremation grounds and jungle areas. (Express photo by Jignasa Sinha) To remove the stench, Poonawala bought room fresheners, agarbattis or incense sticks, and potpourri, the sources said. “He made multiple trips to the Mehrauli forest area over the next two-three months and emptied the packets,” said an officer.
“We have recovered evidence from his possession in connection with the murder. He has confessed to the crime. We are questioning him further and trying to recover the body parts,” said the officer.