A man murdered his live-in partner, dismembered her body into 35 parts, and scattered the fragments over the city for 18 days close to the Mehrauli forest region.
Police have identified the suspect as Aftab Poonawalla, who they say killed her live-in lover Shraddha Walkar while she was proposing to him.
Aftab has been detained by the police for 5 days after being arrested.
Sources claim that on May 18, the accused Aftab and Shraddha had a disagreement. Shraddha was shouting during the argument, so Aftab pressed his face against hers in an attempt to stop her and ensure their neighbours wouldn’t hear. As a result, Shraddha choked to death.
Aftab used a saw to cut off 35 pieces of her body, which he then scattered about the city for 18 days in an effort to conceal the crime he had committed.
Police reports claim that Aftab continued to dispose of Shraddha’s body parts one by one in the Mehrauli forest area of Delhi. The accused also purchased a sizable refrigerator to keep her body parts fresh for 18 days. Every night about two in the morning, Aftab would travel to Mehrauli to dispose of body parts in the surrounding forest.
Shraddha and Aftab used to work together at the same Mumbai call centre, but the girl’s parents disapproved of their connection.
When Shraddha and Aftab arrived in Delhi, they began sharing a rental house. Shraddha routinely posted pictures of herself on Facebook so that her family could see her.
Shraddha’s family began to wonder why she hadn’t posted anything on Facebook for a few days. Around five months ago, during a visit to Delhi, her father went to the residence where her daughter and her live-in partner were staying. When her father arrived, he discovered the location to be locked, so he filed a missing person report.
Five months after the police began their investigation, the accused was taken into custody.
Police sources claim that the accused was under constant pressure from Shraddha to get married, and as a result of this pressure, he killed her.
“A man & a woman had come here from Mumbai. A few days after they started staying here, the woman’s father in Mumbai realised she was missing. He filed a missing report with Mumbai Police. Her last location was found to be Delhi,” informed Ankit Chauhan, Addl DCP-I, South district, Delhi.
“They came to Mehrauli police station and we immediately initiated legal action. They had private jobs in Mumbai and the man had started working here. He has been identified as Aftab Poonawalla. They got together via dating app, were in a live-in relationship in Mumbai and continued here,” the cop added.
“They quarreled frequently & it used to get out of control. In this particular instance, the man lost his temper and killed her in May this year. He told us that he chopped her into pieces & disposed of her parts in nearby areas. He has been arrested, investigation going on,” Ankit Chauhan said.