Delhi murder: How accused Aaftab Poonawala kept Shraddha Walker’s murder a secret for months

Delhi murder: The Delhi Police, which is probing the gruesome murder of Shraddha Walker allegedly by her live-in partner Aaftab Poonawala, has said Aaftab has confessed to killing her.  

He also told police he didn’t speak Hindi and spoke only English. The police said Aaftab was a food blogger and also used to work at a call centre. The couple had frequent fights. 

According to the police, Aaftab allegedly strangled his partner, Shraddha, on May 18 after a fight. He then moved her body to the bathroom to kitchen and then chopped her into 35 pieces. Later, he bought a 300-litre fridge to store the parts. For next 16 days, he went out around 2 am and disposed of the parts one by one, at different spots. He googled ways to remove blood stains and how to get rid of the stench.

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On Tuesday, Aaftab, who is in a prison in Mehrauli, told the police where he had allegedly dumped pieces of Shraddha’s body. The police said Aaftab cleverly chalked out the plan to first dismember Shraddha’s body, and then step by step decided how to get rid of her mortal remains in a manner that they were unretrievable by the authorities. 

“The two met on a dating app in Mumbai. They were in a live-in relationship for three years and had shifted to Delhi. Soon after, Shraddha started pressurising Aftab to marry her,” Ankit Chauhan, Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), South Delhi told news agency ANI. 

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“The two quarreled frequently and it used to get out of control. In this particular instance that occurred on May 18, the man lost his temper and strangled her,” Chauhan added. 

The police added that Aftab used to sleep in the same room where he had chopped Shraddha’s body, and used to see her face after keeping it in the fridge. 

Police said Aaftab and Shraddha move into the house in Mehrauli on May 15. Their house was at Gully Number 1 in Chhatarpur Pahadi area.On May 18, they had a massive fight, following which Aaftab tried to shut her mouth with his hand. He later allegedly strangulated her, the police said. 

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Police said Aaftab also confessed he used incense sticks and burnt them to keep the foul smell of Shraddha’s body pieces at bay.