News Analysis India

Tag: Aaftab Poonawala

  • Aaftab Poonawala should be hanged for killing my daughter: Shraddha Walkar’s father

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: Vikas Walkar, father of Shraddha Walkar who was murdered allegedly by her live-in partner Aaftab Poonawala in Delhi, on Friday demanded that the accused be hanged to death for killing his daughter.

    Poonawala allegedly strangled Shraddha and cut her body into 35 pieces which he kept in a 300-litre fridge for almost three weeks at his residence in Mehrauli in south Delhi in May this year, before dumping them across the city over several days.

    “Aaftab Poonawala should be given capital punishment of hanging for killing my daughter. There should be stern action against Poonawala and whosoever was involved in the case,” Walkar told reporters here after meeting Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.

    “An inquiry should also be conducted against the police officials of Vasai and Nalasopara and Tulinj police (in Palghar district) for delayed the investigation on Shraddha’s complaint. Had they acted immediately, my daughter would have been alive now,” he said.

    ALSO READ | Aaftab will kill me, cut me into pieces: Shraddha’s letter to police in 2020

    Shraddha Walkar had submitted a written complaint to Tulinj police in November 2020, in which she alleged: “Poonawala has been abusing me and beating me up. Today, he tried to kill me by suffocating me and he scares and blackmails me that he will kill me, cut me up in pieces and throw me anyway. It’s been six months he has been hitting me. But I did not have the guts to go to police because he would threaten to kill me.”

    Deceased Shradha Walkar’s father meets Maharashtra Deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis this noon at his Bungalow in Mumbai to seek justice for his daughter who was killed by Aftab Poonawala in Delhi. BJP leader Kirit Somaiya was also present in the meeting. @NewIndianXpress pic.twitter.com/1usSH3aNeN
    — Sudhir Suryawanshi (@ss_suryawanshi) December 9, 2022
    Vikas Walkar said Delhi Governor and DCP Delhi South and Maharashtra deputy CM Fadnavis have assured justice to his family.

    MUMBAI: Vikas Walkar, father of Shraddha Walkar who was murdered allegedly by her live-in partner Aaftab Poonawala in Delhi, on Friday demanded that the accused be hanged to death for killing his daughter.

    Poonawala allegedly strangled Shraddha and cut her body into 35 pieces which he kept in a 300-litre fridge for almost three weeks at his residence in Mehrauli in south Delhi in May this year, before dumping them across the city over several days.

    “Aaftab Poonawala should be given capital punishment of hanging for killing my daughter. There should be stern action against Poonawala and whosoever was involved in the case,” Walkar told reporters here after meeting Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.

    “An inquiry should also be conducted against the police officials of Vasai and Nalasopara and Tulinj police (in Palghar district) for delayed the investigation on Shraddha’s complaint. Had they acted immediately, my daughter would have been alive now,” he said.

    ALSO READ | Aaftab will kill me, cut me into pieces: Shraddha’s letter to police in 2020

    Shraddha Walkar had submitted a written complaint to Tulinj police in November 2020, in which she alleged: “Poonawala has been abusing me and beating me up. Today, he tried to kill me by suffocating me and he scares and blackmails me that he will kill me, cut me up in pieces and throw me anyway. It’s been six months he has been hitting me. But I did not have the guts to go to police because he would threaten to kill me.”

    Deceased Shradha Walkar’s father meets Maharashtra Deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis this noon at his Bungalow in Mumbai to seek justice for his daughter who was killed by Aftab Poonawala in Delhi. BJP leader Kirit Somaiya was also present in the meeting. @NewIndianXpress pic.twitter.com/1usSH3aNeN
    — Sudhir Suryawanshi (@ss_suryawanshi) December 9, 2022
    Vikas Walkar said Delhi Governor and DCP Delhi South and Maharashtra deputy CM Fadnavis have assured justice to his family.

  • Plea in HC to transfer Shraddha Walkar murder case from Delhi Police to CBI

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI:  A PIL was filed in the Delhi High Court on Monday seeking a direction to transfer the investigation into the Shraddha Walkar murder case from Delhi Police to the CBI, alleging that presence of media and public at places of recovery amounts to tampering of evidence.

    The plea, which is likely to be listed for a Wednesday hearing, alleged that the Delhi Police has revealed every detail to the media and public regarding the investigation which is not permitted under the law.

    It claimed that the Delhi Police have not sealed the alleged place of the incident to date which is continuously being accessed by the public and media personnel.

    Walkar was murdered by 28-year-old Aaftab Poonawala, who sawed her body into 35 pieces and dumped the body parts across the city over several days past midnight.

    “The incident of murder is alleged to have been taken place in Delhi and after that the body parts have been alleged to have disposed at different places, thus investigation of Police Station Mehrauli cannot be efficiently be carried out due to administrative/ staff paucity as well as lack of sufficient technical and scientific equipment to find out the evidences and the witnesses as the incident had taken place about six months back in May, 2022,” the petition filed by Joshini Tuli submitted.

    The plea, filed through advocate Joginder Tuli, claimed that sensitive details of the investigation by the Delhi Police have so far been revealed to public persons through the media which has led to tampering of sensitive evidence.

    “The presence of media and other public persons at the place of recoveries, court hearings etc. of any accused amounts to interference with the evidence and witnesses in the present case,” it alleged.

    On November 17, a trial court had permitted the police to question the accused for five more days in its custody, while another judge had allowed his narco analysis test to unravel the sensational case after he consented to undergo the forensic procedure.

    Earlier, the accused was sent to five days in police custody.

    NEW DELHI:  A PIL was filed in the Delhi High Court on Monday seeking a direction to transfer the investigation into the Shraddha Walkar murder case from Delhi Police to the CBI, alleging that presence of media and public at places of recovery amounts to tampering of evidence.

    The plea, which is likely to be listed for a Wednesday hearing, alleged that the Delhi Police has revealed every detail to the media and public regarding the investigation which is not permitted under the law.

    It claimed that the Delhi Police have not sealed the alleged place of the incident to date which is continuously being accessed by the public and media personnel.

    Walkar was murdered by 28-year-old Aaftab Poonawala, who sawed her body into 35 pieces and dumped the body parts across the city over several days past midnight.

    “The incident of murder is alleged to have been taken place in Delhi and after that the body parts have been alleged to have disposed at different places, thus investigation of Police Station Mehrauli cannot be efficiently be carried out due to administrative/ staff paucity as well as lack of sufficient technical and scientific equipment to find out the evidences and the witnesses as the incident had taken place about six months back in May, 2022,” the petition filed by Joshini Tuli submitted.

    The plea, filed through advocate Joginder Tuli, claimed that sensitive details of the investigation by the Delhi Police have so far been revealed to public persons through the media which has led to tampering of sensitive evidence.

    “The presence of media and other public persons at the place of recoveries, court hearings etc. of any accused amounts to interference with the evidence and witnesses in the present case,” it alleged.

    On November 17, a trial court had permitted the police to question the accused for five more days in its custody, while another judge had allowed his narco analysis test to unravel the sensational case after he consented to undergo the forensic procedure.

    Earlier, the accused was sent to five days in police custody.

  • Mehrauli murder case: Police recover fragments of skull, body parts as probe progresses

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI/MUMBAI: Delhi Police on Sunday recovered parts of a skull and bones from a forest area, police said.

    According to the sources, police recovered fragments of skull and other body parts, mostly bones, on the third day of extensive searches in the forest areas of Mehrauli and Gurgaon in the Delhi-NCR region. These will be sent for forensic analysis.

    Not far from Mehrauli, Delhi Police along with teams from the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) were involved in pumping out water from a pond since Sunday afternoon. The exercise began following accused Aaftab Poonwala’s claim that he had thrown Shraddha Walkar’s head and some body parts into the water body.

    “We have heard that some body parts are dumped here and the search for them is underway. They are taking out water from the pond. This pond supplies water to the tube wells in the area,” said Mahavir Pradhan, president of the RWA of the village.

    He said that they are ready to help the police but there could be another way of finding the body parts, rather than emptying the pond.

    “Divers could have been deployed to look for the body parts,” he said.

    ALSO READ | Shraddha murder case: Accused Poonawala likely to undergo narco analysis on Monday

    Poonawala allegedly strangled Walkar, 27, on May 18 and sawed her body into nearly three dozen pieces which he kept in a 300-litre fridge for almost three weeks at his residence in South Delhi’s Mehrauli before dumping them across the city over several days past midnight.

    Police took Poonawala to the flat where he and Walkar lived to gather more evidence.

    Also, the officials of Delhi Police and Rohini’s Forensic Science Laboratory held a meeting as they prepared to conduct a narco-analysis test through which they are hoping to get some vital clues from the accused.

    “We have taken up the matter. Our teams of forensic experts had an elaborative discussion with the officials of Delhi Police regarding the narco analysis test to be conducted and are preparing for the same,” a senior official from Rohini’s Forensic Science Laboratory said.

    In Maharashtra, a Delhi Police team called three persons known to Walkar in Palghar district to record their statements.

    Delhi Police team is in Manikpur in Palghar’s Vasai, which is the native place of the victim and where the couple had stayed before shifting to the national capital.

    On Saturday, it had recorded statements of four persons in Palghar – two men from whom Walkar had sought assistance after she was assaulted by Poonawala in 2020, a former manager of the call centre in Mumbai where Walkar worked and her female friend.

    Sources privy to the probe said that Poonawala burnt three photographs of Walkar in the kitchen after killing her.

    ALSO READ | Shraddha murder case: Court allows narco test, extends accused Aftab Poonawala’s police custody

    During interrogation, the accused said that he had developed a hatred for Walkar and combed through the various belongings of the couple after murdering her. The three big photographs of Walkar were in his bedroom, including two solo photographs from their Uttarakhand tour and a 2020 picture of the couple near Mumbai’s Gateway of India.

    During interrogation, he said that he wanted to destroy every evidence related to Walkar in the house.

    Police have recovered a bag of Walkar’s belongings, including her shoes and clothes from the house.

    As the police are scouring for evidence to nail Poonawala in court and ensure his conviction, experts here said that circumstantial evidence and forensic examination hold the key in such cases.

    Noting that it is a six-month-old murder, former Delhi Police commissioner S N Shrivastava said the scene of the crime has been cleaned up and police are depending on the confession of the accused, who seems to be a “clever” person.

    “It is going to be a very difficult case and will require the help of all organs of the criminal justice system to nail him down. Police will get what it can, but the court will also have to understand the situation and act accordingly,” he told PTI.

    The Delhi Police had on Friday sent teams to Maharashtra, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh to hunt for evidence in the case.

    According to officials, after leaving Mumbai, Walkar and Poonawala had travelled to several locations, including Himachal Pradesh, and police are visiting these places to ascertain whether any development during those trips triggered Poonawala’s actions.

    NEW DELHI/MUMBAI: Delhi Police on Sunday recovered parts of a skull and bones from a forest area, police said.

    According to the sources, police recovered fragments of skull and other body parts, mostly bones, on the third day of extensive searches in the forest areas of Mehrauli and Gurgaon in the Delhi-NCR region. These will be sent for forensic analysis.

    Not far from Mehrauli, Delhi Police along with teams from the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) were involved in pumping out water from a pond since Sunday afternoon. The exercise began following accused Aaftab Poonwala’s claim that he had thrown Shraddha Walkar’s head and some body parts into the water body.

    “We have heard that some body parts are dumped here and the search for them is underway. They are taking out water from the pond. This pond supplies water to the tube wells in the area,” said Mahavir Pradhan, president of the RWA of the village.

    He said that they are ready to help the police but there could be another way of finding the body parts, rather than emptying the pond.

    “Divers could have been deployed to look for the body parts,” he said.

    ALSO READ | Shraddha murder case: Accused Poonawala likely to undergo narco analysis on Monday

    Poonawala allegedly strangled Walkar, 27, on May 18 and sawed her body into nearly three dozen pieces which he kept in a 300-litre fridge for almost three weeks at his residence in South Delhi’s Mehrauli before dumping them across the city over several days past midnight.

    Police took Poonawala to the flat where he and Walkar lived to gather more evidence.

    Also, the officials of Delhi Police and Rohini’s Forensic Science Laboratory held a meeting as they prepared to conduct a narco-analysis test through which they are hoping to get some vital clues from the accused.

    “We have taken up the matter. Our teams of forensic experts had an elaborative discussion with the officials of Delhi Police regarding the narco analysis test to be conducted and are preparing for the same,” a senior official from Rohini’s Forensic Science Laboratory said.

    In Maharashtra, a Delhi Police team called three persons known to Walkar in Palghar district to record their statements.

    Delhi Police team is in Manikpur in Palghar’s Vasai, which is the native place of the victim and where the couple had stayed before shifting to the national capital.

    On Saturday, it had recorded statements of four persons in Palghar – two men from whom Walkar had sought assistance after she was assaulted by Poonawala in 2020, a former manager of the call centre in Mumbai where Walkar worked and her female friend.

    Sources privy to the probe said that Poonawala burnt three photographs of Walkar in the kitchen after killing her.

    ALSO READ | Shraddha murder case: Court allows narco test, extends accused Aftab Poonawala’s police custody

    During interrogation, the accused said that he had developed a hatred for Walkar and combed through the various belongings of the couple after murdering her. The three big photographs of Walkar were in his bedroom, including two solo photographs from their Uttarakhand tour and a 2020 picture of the couple near Mumbai’s Gateway of India.

    During interrogation, he said that he wanted to destroy every evidence related to Walkar in the house.

    Police have recovered a bag of Walkar’s belongings, including her shoes and clothes from the house.

    As the police are scouring for evidence to nail Poonawala in court and ensure his conviction, experts here said that circumstantial evidence and forensic examination hold the key in such cases.

    Noting that it is a six-month-old murder, former Delhi Police commissioner S N Shrivastava said the scene of the crime has been cleaned up and police are depending on the confession of the accused, who seems to be a “clever” person.

    “It is going to be a very difficult case and will require the help of all organs of the criminal justice system to nail him down. Police will get what it can, but the court will also have to understand the situation and act accordingly,” he told PTI.

    The Delhi Police had on Friday sent teams to Maharashtra, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh to hunt for evidence in the case.

    According to officials, after leaving Mumbai, Walkar and Poonawala had travelled to several locations, including Himachal Pradesh, and police are visiting these places to ascertain whether any development during those trips triggered Poonawala’s actions.

  • Fight began over household expenses before Shraddha’s murder: Aaftab reveals 

    By ANI

    NEW DELHI: Aaftab Amin Poonawala, who had allegedly strangled his live-in partner Shraddha Walker to death and chopped her body into 35 pieces, dumped it in the Chhattarpur area of south Delhi, had told police that before the murder there was a fight between the couple over the shifting of household items from Mumbai.

    Police investigation revealed that the couple had a fight on May 18 during which Aaftab killed Shraddha. Delhi Police sources said the May 18 quarrel was not the first time, Aaftab and Shraddha were fighting for three years.

    “On May 18, there was a fight between the two regarding bringing household items from Mumbai. They used to fight over who would bear the household expenses and bring items. Aaftab got very angry about this. The quarrel started around 8 pm on May 18 when Aaftab strangled Shraddha to death. He kept her body in the room overnight and went to buy a knife and refrigerator the next day,” sources told ANI.

    Aaftab was arrested on Saturday after Delhi police started probing into a missing complaint filed by Shraddha’s father Vikas Walker.

    ALSO READ | Shraddha murder case: This is how Delhi Police caught Aftab’s lie

    Aaftab had attempted to dupe the police of Delhi and Mumbai in the initial days of the investigation.

    Aaftab had tried to hide the murder of Shraddha by removing any physical evidence, however, he had left the digital evidence that the police traced to reach the truth of the case.

    When Delhi Police initiated the investigation, Aaftab had told the police that Shraddha had left the house on May 22 (Shraddha was killed on May 18), after a fight. He said that she had only carried her phone with herself and had left her belongings in his flat. He claimed that she was unreachable and he had not come in contact with her since then, according to the police sources.

    However, the truth came to the fore when the police checked the phone call records of the couple and investigated their locations.

    The biggest breakthrough the police got was the bank statement of the couple’s account which showed a transaction of Rs 54,000 from Shraddha’s net banking account app to Aaftab’s account on May 26. The transaction exposed Aaftab’s lies in which he had earlier said that Shraddha was unreachable after May 22 and he did not come in contact with her, the sources said.

    Police personnel along with accused Aaftab Ameen Poonawala pose for the media, at Mehrauli Police Station, in New Delhi. (Photo | PTI)

    The location of the bank transfer that took place on May 26 also turned out to be the Mehrauli police station area.

    Besides this, on May 31 there was a chat with her friend from Shraddha’s Instagram account. When the police found out the location of Shraddha’s phone, it turned out to be in Delhi’s Mehrauli police station area.

    Aaftab could not answer the police question that if Shraddha had carried her phone along with herself, why was its location being traced to his house? It was at this moment that Aaftab revealed the truth.

    The Maharashtra Police sources said that when Shraddha’s family could not contact her due to her phone being switched off, they filed the missing complaint at the Manikpur police station. Following the complaint, Aaftab was summoned to the Manikpur police station for questioning. Earlier on Tuesday, the police sources told ANI that Aaftab confessed that he had made up his mind to kill Shraddha over a week before the murder (May 18).

    ALSO READ | Aaftab looked remorseless during prior questioning, say Maha cops

    “More than a week before the murder (May 18), I had made up my mind to kill Shraddha. Even on that day, Shraddha and I had a fight. I was determined to kill her when she suddenly became emotional and started crying. So I held back for later,” a Delhi Police source quoted Aaftab as saying in his confession.

    Aaftab said his partner had trust issues because of which she would often get angry, leading to frequent quarrels.

    “I often had to talk to someone over the phone. However, she would doubt my commitment to the relationship every time she caught me speaking over the phone. She used to get very angry,” Aaftab told Delhi Police.

    “I was scared as I knew that if I dumped the body somewhere, I might be caught. I browsed Google all night to search for ways to dispose of the body and not arouse any suspicion. I also searched the internet on what kind of chopper would I have to use to piece the body,” the Delhi Police source quoted Aaftab as saying.

    Aaftab also confessed to his fondness for watching web series and shows related to crime and it was from these shows that he borrowed ideas on preserving the chopped-off body parts and disposing of them later, police said, adding that he did it all by himself.

    “I am fond of watching web series and serials on crime and it was while watching these shows that I came up with ideas on preserving the body parts and keeping Shraddha alive in the eyes of her family and friends. It was to preempt any doubts or suspicions about her whereabouts that I kept posting on Shradhha’s Instagram profile after the murder. I did it all by myself,” the accused told Delhi Police.

    Sources said the accused first disposed of her liver and intestines after mincing them. Since he was a trained chef, he knew how to use the knife on her flesh.

    The liver and intestines were disposed of in the nearby forest area of Chattarpur and Mehrauli, sources said.

    As the investigators dig deeper into the Shraddha Walker murder case, Delhi Police have found blood stains in the kitchen of accused Aaftab Amin Poonawalla’s flat in Delhi’s Chhatarpur. The blood samples have been sent for examination to ascertain whose blood it is.

    According to top sources of Delhi Police, the DNA sample of Shraddha’s father has been collected. About 10-13 bones have been recovered from the forest. They have been sent to the forensic lab to find out whether the bones belonged to Shraddha or those of an animal.

    Delhi Police has been conducting CCTV mapping of the Chhatarpur area. Since the murder took place six months ago, the police are trying to gather the record of six months. The challenge before the police is most of the CCTV’s capture record of 15 days, in this situation Delhi Police have to scan vast footage.

    Sources said Police are also scanning the CCTV to find out whom Aaftab was meeting these days.

    “A lot of work has to be done. The weapon, Shraddha’s head and mobile phone are yet to be traced. The clothes worn by Aaftab and Shraddha on the day of the murder have not been found. These clothes were thrown in a garbage-moving vehicle,” sources said.

    Delhi Police recovered a bag of Shraddha in Aaftab’s house, which has her belongings. The bag has to be now identified with Shraddha’s family.

    Delhi Police had applied for the Narco test of the Aaftab on Saturday but till now no permission has been granted by the Court, sources said.

    ALSO READ | Delhi Police planning to conduct Aaftab’s psycho-assessment test

    Sources said the city police may write to the dating app, Bumble where the couple first met, seeking details of Aaftab’s profile and the women who visited him after the murder.

    Sources said the Delhi Police wants to ascertain if any of the women Aaftab dated on the app was the reason why he killed Shraddha.

    Meanwhile, Shraddha’s father on Tuesday demanded the death penalty for the accused while also suspecting ‘love jihad’ behind the incident.

    Speaking to ANI, Shraddha’s father, Vikas Walker said, “I suspect love jihad. We demand that Aaftab be sentenced to death. I have faith in the Delhi Police as the investigation is moving in the right direction. Shraddha was close to her uncle and didn’t talk to me much. I was never in touch with Aaftab. I lodged the first complaint in the case at Vasai (Mumbai).”

    “I had spoken to Shraddha last in 2021. I would ask her to tell me more about her live-in partner. But she didn’t say much. I did not know she had shifted to Delhi. Her friend told me she was in Delhi. I thought that she was in Bengaluru. Aaftab had a lot of time to remove all the evidence,” Shraddha’s father said. 

    NEW DELHI: Aaftab Amin Poonawala, who had allegedly strangled his live-in partner Shraddha Walker to death and chopped her body into 35 pieces, dumped it in the Chhattarpur area of south Delhi, had told police that before the murder there was a fight between the couple over the shifting of household items from Mumbai.

    Police investigation revealed that the couple had a fight on May 18 during which Aaftab killed Shraddha. Delhi Police sources said the May 18 quarrel was not the first time, Aaftab and Shraddha were fighting for three years.

    “On May 18, there was a fight between the two regarding bringing household items from Mumbai. They used to fight over who would bear the household expenses and bring items. Aaftab got very angry about this. The quarrel started around 8 pm on May 18 when Aaftab strangled Shraddha to death. He kept her body in the room overnight and went to buy a knife and refrigerator the next day,” sources told ANI.

    Aaftab was arrested on Saturday after Delhi police started probing into a missing complaint filed by Shraddha’s father Vikas Walker.

    ALSO READ | Shraddha murder case: This is how Delhi Police caught Aftab’s lie

    Aaftab had attempted to dupe the police of Delhi and Mumbai in the initial days of the investigation.

    Aaftab had tried to hide the murder of Shraddha by removing any physical evidence, however, he had left the digital evidence that the police traced to reach the truth of the case.

    When Delhi Police initiated the investigation, Aaftab had told the police that Shraddha had left the house on May 22 (Shraddha was killed on May 18), after a fight. He said that she had only carried her phone with herself and had left her belongings in his flat. He claimed that she was unreachable and he had not come in contact with her since then, according to the police sources.

    However, the truth came to the fore when the police checked the phone call records of the couple and investigated their locations.

    The biggest breakthrough the police got was the bank statement of the couple’s account which showed a transaction of Rs 54,000 from Shraddha’s net banking account app to Aaftab’s account on May 26. The transaction exposed Aaftab’s lies in which he had earlier said that Shraddha was unreachable after May 22 and he did not come in contact with her, the sources said.

    Police personnel along with accused Aaftab Ameen Poonawala pose for the media, at Mehrauli Police Station, in New Delhi. (Photo | PTI)

    The location of the bank transfer that took place on May 26 also turned out to be the Mehrauli police station area.

    Besides this, on May 31 there was a chat with her friend from Shraddha’s Instagram account. When the police found out the location of Shraddha’s phone, it turned out to be in Delhi’s Mehrauli police station area.

    Aaftab could not answer the police question that if Shraddha had carried her phone along with herself, why was its location being traced to his house? It was at this moment that Aaftab revealed the truth.

    The Maharashtra Police sources said that when Shraddha’s family could not contact her due to her phone being switched off, they filed the missing complaint at the Manikpur police station. Following the complaint, Aaftab was summoned to the Manikpur police station for questioning. Earlier on Tuesday, the police sources told ANI that Aaftab confessed that he had made up his mind to kill Shraddha over a week before the murder (May 18).

    ALSO READ | Aaftab looked remorseless during prior questioning, say Maha cops

    “More than a week before the murder (May 18), I had made up my mind to kill Shraddha. Even on that day, Shraddha and I had a fight. I was determined to kill her when she suddenly became emotional and started crying. So I held back for later,” a Delhi Police source quoted Aaftab as saying in his confession.

    Aaftab said his partner had trust issues because of which she would often get angry, leading to frequent quarrels.

    “I often had to talk to someone over the phone. However, she would doubt my commitment to the relationship every time she caught me speaking over the phone. She used to get very angry,” Aaftab told Delhi Police.

    “I was scared as I knew that if I dumped the body somewhere, I might be caught. I browsed Google all night to search for ways to dispose of the body and not arouse any suspicion. I also searched the internet on what kind of chopper would I have to use to piece the body,” the Delhi Police source quoted Aaftab as saying.

    Aaftab also confessed to his fondness for watching web series and shows related to crime and it was from these shows that he borrowed ideas on preserving the chopped-off body parts and disposing of them later, police said, adding that he did it all by himself.

    “I am fond of watching web series and serials on crime and it was while watching these shows that I came up with ideas on preserving the body parts and keeping Shraddha alive in the eyes of her family and friends. It was to preempt any doubts or suspicions about her whereabouts that I kept posting on Shradhha’s Instagram profile after the murder. I did it all by myself,” the accused told Delhi Police.

    Sources said the accused first disposed of her liver and intestines after mincing them. Since he was a trained chef, he knew how to use the knife on her flesh.

    The liver and intestines were disposed of in the nearby forest area of Chattarpur and Mehrauli, sources said.

    As the investigators dig deeper into the Shraddha Walker murder case, Delhi Police have found blood stains in the kitchen of accused Aaftab Amin Poonawalla’s flat in Delhi’s Chhatarpur. The blood samples have been sent for examination to ascertain whose blood it is.

    According to top sources of Delhi Police, the DNA sample of Shraddha’s father has been collected. About 10-13 bones have been recovered from the forest. They have been sent to the forensic lab to find out whether the bones belonged to Shraddha or those of an animal.

    Delhi Police has been conducting CCTV mapping of the Chhatarpur area. Since the murder took place six months ago, the police are trying to gather the record of six months. The challenge before the police is most of the CCTV’s capture record of 15 days, in this situation Delhi Police have to scan vast footage.

    Sources said Police are also scanning the CCTV to find out whom Aaftab was meeting these days.

    “A lot of work has to be done. The weapon, Shraddha’s head and mobile phone are yet to be traced. The clothes worn by Aaftab and Shraddha on the day of the murder have not been found. These clothes were thrown in a garbage-moving vehicle,” sources said.

    Delhi Police recovered a bag of Shraddha in Aaftab’s house, which has her belongings. The bag has to be now identified with Shraddha’s family.

    Delhi Police had applied for the Narco test of the Aaftab on Saturday but till now no permission has been granted by the Court, sources said.

    ALSO READ | Delhi Police planning to conduct Aaftab’s psycho-assessment test

    Sources said the city police may write to the dating app, Bumble where the couple first met, seeking details of Aaftab’s profile and the women who visited him after the murder.

    Sources said the Delhi Police wants to ascertain if any of the women Aaftab dated on the app was the reason why he killed Shraddha.

    Meanwhile, Shraddha’s father on Tuesday demanded the death penalty for the accused while also suspecting ‘love jihad’ behind the incident.

    Speaking to ANI, Shraddha’s father, Vikas Walker said, “I suspect love jihad. We demand that Aaftab be sentenced to death. I have faith in the Delhi Police as the investigation is moving in the right direction. Shraddha was close to her uncle and didn’t talk to me much. I was never in touch with Aaftab. I lodged the first complaint in the case at Vasai (Mumbai).”

    “I had spoken to Shraddha last in 2021. I would ask her to tell me more about her live-in partner. But she didn’t say much. I did not know she had shifted to Delhi. Her friend told me she was in Delhi. I thought that she was in Bengaluru. Aaftab had a lot of time to remove all the evidence,” Shraddha’s father said. 

  • Shraddha murder: Friends suspect ‘conspiracy’, claim she feared for her life

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: A close friend of Maharashtra resident Shraddha Walkar, who was killed allegedly by her live-in partner Aaftab Poonawala in Delhi, has said there could be a “big conspiracy” behind her murder, while another friend claimed she had once called him saying Poonawala would kill her.

    Poonawala (28) has been arrested by the Delhi Police for murdering Walkar in May this year, chopping the body into 35 pieces before dumping them at different places in the national capital over several days.

    As per Manikpur police in Vasai town of Palghar district, Walkar, a graduate in mass media, worked at a call centre in Malad area of Mumbai and met Poonawala through the dating app Bumble in 2019.

    A friend of Walkar, who had alerted her family members after being unable to contact her, claimed, “Once Walkar (when she was living in Vasai town near Mumbai) had messaged me and asked me to come and take her or else Aaftab would kill her.”

    Some of the friends then reached out to Walkar and warned Poonawala, he said. “We were then going to approach police against Aaftab but Shraddha stopped us,” he said.

    The friend said he had a text message conversation on Walkar’s mobile phone in July. He started getting worrying about her in August after being unable to contact her.

    Walkar was not replying to his messages and her number was coming switched-off, he said, adding that he had also enquired about her in their friend circle.

    READ HERE | Shraddha murder: Delhi Police take accused to jungle, search for body parts, including victim’s head

    The friend also said when he did not get any update, he told his brother that it would be better to contact police.

    Another close friend of Walkar said police should find out details about Poonawala, his background “as it (the murder) may be some big conspiracy”.

    “She (Walkar) was wanted to become a journalist and after pursuing graduation in mass media, she was doing theatre too. She was very active and her personality had a spark,” he said.

    The friend claimed they started noticing some changes in Walkar in 2018.

    It was not a good sign as she always seemed upset, he said.

    “I think it was the time when Aaftab entered into her life,” he said.

    The friend said they came to know in 2019 that Walkar was in a relationship with Poonawala and at that time they found him to be a “simple person”.

    Walkar and Poonawala were in a live-in relationship and they later shifted to Delhi after a mutual understanding to work together, he said.

    “We came to know sometime back that she was missing and now it has come to light that she was brutally murdered, and it may be some big conspiracy,” he said.

    MUMBAI: A close friend of Maharashtra resident Shraddha Walkar, who was killed allegedly by her live-in partner Aaftab Poonawala in Delhi, has said there could be a “big conspiracy” behind her murder, while another friend claimed she had once called him saying Poonawala would kill her.

    Poonawala (28) has been arrested by the Delhi Police for murdering Walkar in May this year, chopping the body into 35 pieces before dumping them at different places in the national capital over several days.

    As per Manikpur police in Vasai town of Palghar district, Walkar, a graduate in mass media, worked at a call centre in Malad area of Mumbai and met Poonawala through the dating app Bumble in 2019.

    A friend of Walkar, who had alerted her family members after being unable to contact her, claimed, “Once Walkar (when she was living in Vasai town near Mumbai) had messaged me and asked me to come and take her or else Aaftab would kill her.”

    Some of the friends then reached out to Walkar and warned Poonawala, he said. “We were then going to approach police against Aaftab but Shraddha stopped us,” he said.

    The friend said he had a text message conversation on Walkar’s mobile phone in July. He started getting worrying about her in August after being unable to contact her.

    Walkar was not replying to his messages and her number was coming switched-off, he said, adding that he had also enquired about her in their friend circle.

    READ HERE | Shraddha murder: Delhi Police take accused to jungle, search for body parts, including victim’s head

    The friend also said when he did not get any update, he told his brother that it would be better to contact police.

    Another close friend of Walkar said police should find out details about Poonawala, his background “as it (the murder) may be some big conspiracy”.

    “She (Walkar) was wanted to become a journalist and after pursuing graduation in mass media, she was doing theatre too. She was very active and her personality had a spark,” he said.

    The friend claimed they started noticing some changes in Walkar in 2018.

    It was not a good sign as she always seemed upset, he said.

    “I think it was the time when Aaftab entered into her life,” he said.

    The friend said they came to know in 2019 that Walkar was in a relationship with Poonawala and at that time they found him to be a “simple person”.

    Walkar and Poonawala were in a live-in relationship and they later shifted to Delhi after a mutual understanding to work together, he said.

    “We came to know sometime back that she was missing and now it has come to light that she was brutally murdered, and it may be some big conspiracy,” he said.