Delhi Crime: Man killed girlfriend, chopped body into pieces, scattered them around Mehrauli forest over 16 days

A 28-year-old man named Aftab Amin Poonawalla has been arrested for killing his live-in partner Shraddha Walkar, chopping her body into pieces and scattering them across the Mehrauli forest over 16 days. Poonawalla was arrested today, five months after he committed the crime.

What happened: Aftab and Shraddha met on a dating app sometime in 2019. Aftab was in a live-in relationship with 26-year-old Shraddha. They had frequent fights. 

Aftab and Shraddha visited the hills in North India in March-April this year, and decided to move to Delhi. In May, the two moved to Delhi.

Aftab revealed during police questioning that he killed Shraddha because she was pressurising him to marry her.

• The topic of marriage led to a fight between them on May 18, and Aftab strangled her.

• He then dismembered her body with a sharp weapon and bought a 300-litre fridge to store the chopped up parts, reported India Today.
• Over the next 16 days, he left the flat at 2 am to dispose of the body parts at various locations in Delhi.
• Aftab lit incense sticks to conceal the foul smell, and to keep anyone from guessing what had happened inside the flat.

Shraddha and Aftab's relationship and the investigation: The victim's father, Vikas Madan Walkar, told the police that they were from Maharashtra's Palghar and that his daughter had met Poonawalla at the call centre where the two worked.

• Shraddha told her mother about her relationship with Aftab sometime in 2019.
• Shraddha's parents were not happy with her relationship with Aftab.
• Shraddha wanted to live-in with Aftab, which was opposed by her parents.
• However, Shraddha and Aftab lived together in Naigaon, Vasai, Maharashtra, for over two years.
• During the time Shraddha and Aftab were in a live-in in Maharashtra, they had frequent fights. Shraddha told her mother that Aftab would beat her up.
• After the death of her mother this year, Shraddha attended the funeral and went back to Aftab.
• Aftab and Shraddha visited the hills in North India in March-April this year and decided to move to Delhi.  
• The two came to Delhi from Mumbai on May 8, and spent the first night at a hotel in Paharganj.
• They then moved to a hostel in Saidulajab in Delhi, where they spent a few days.
• Thereafter, they got a flat in Chhatarpur, Delhi, where they began living together.
• After May 2022, Vikas said that he received no word from his daughter.
• Shraddha's friend Laxman Nadar informed her father Vikas about Shraddha's phone being unreachable since May 2022.
• Shraddha's father approached the Vasai police, who registered a missing person complaint and began investigating the case.
• Earlier this month, Shraddha's father landed up at her Chhatarpur flat and found it locked. 
• The Vasai police referred the case to Delhi Police.
• Upon investigation, police found that Shraddha was murdered five months ago. Police then caught hold of Poonawalla from a flat in Chhatarpur in the capital.

Aftab's interrogation: Delhi Police said that upon interrogating Aftab, they found inconsistencies in his statement. He kept changing his words, said police.

• After killing Shraddha, Aftab slept in the same room.
• He would leave home every night at 2 am for 16 days to dispose off a few body parts.
• Aftab continued ordering food in on Zomato, and did not interact with anyone, in order to avoid suspicion.
• He initially told the police that Shraddha had left him in May, following an argument over marriage.

Body parts recovered: After interrogating Aftab, police launched a search for the victim's body parts at the Mehrauli forest, and a few bones were recovered from the scene.

Aftab has now been sent to a five-day police custody.

Met via dating app: Ankit Chauhan, Addl DCP-I, South District, Delhi, said that Aftab and Shraddha had private jobs in Mumbai and that they had met via a dating app, reported ANI.

Who is Aftab Amin Poonawalla? 28-year-old Aftab Amin Poonawalla is a Mumbai-based food blogger. His Instagram bio also called him a 'food photographer and F&B consultant'. He ran an Instagram page called 'Hungry Chokro'. The page has 601 posts and 28.5k followers as of November 14 afternoon.

Aftab is a resident of Vasai, and began a relationship with Shraddha Walkar in 2019.