Delhi Crime: Aftab once burnt Shraddha's back with cigarette, tried to stab her
More gruesome details about Shraddha's murder come to light. Photo: IndiaToday TV/Instagram
Delhi Police has got a 5-day extension of custody of Aftab Amin Poonawalla, accused of murdering his live-in partner Shraddha Walkar, dismembering her body and scattering them across Mehrauli forest. Emerging details reveal Shraddha was hospitalised due to Aftab's abusive nature in 2020.
The latest on what is known:
- India Today reported that chats between Shraddha & an acquaintance, dated November 24, 2020, reveal that she was being beaten up by Aftab so much so that she wouldn't have the energy to get out of bed.
- Reportedly, Shraddha went to Aftab’s house to sort out their conflict, indicating that perhaps Aftab’s family was aware of the situation.
- Aftab reportedly threw some dismembered body parts in Dehradun. Police are investigating the claims.
- Aftab reportedly told police that he was high on marijuana when he killed Shraddha. He said that they were arguing over household expenses and who would go to Mumbai to bring back some of their stuff to Delhi.
- Another friend of Shraddha, Rahul, spoke to India Today TV narrating the tale of how she used to be scared of Aftab and that he might kill her. He said that he last saw her in 2021 on her bike.
- Aftab and Shraddha's Chhatarpur apartment in Delhi has become somewhat of a tourist spot with curious schoolboys and neighbourhood women with morbid fascination wanting to take a peak inside the couple's home where the grisly murder took place.
- Reportedly, there is no police manning the building and a window remains in the apartment.
- A Delhi Police team has reached Vasai to conduct further investigation.
More revelations in Shraddha's brutal murder
— IndiaToday (@IndiaToday) November 18, 2022
(@AkshayDongare_ )#ITVideo #Shraddha #DelhiMurder pic.twitter.com/kud79diEtV
- Shraddha Walkar was reportedly hospitalised in 2020 for intense back pain. This is said to be caused by Aftab assaulting her. Reports even say that Aftab once burnt Shraddha's back with a cigarette.
- Shraddha's friend Godwin, speaking to India Today TV, revealed that on November 23, 2020, Shraddha had called him for help as Aftab had tried to stab and strangle her.
- Godwin shared a picture of Shraddha from 2020 after the incident which shows multiple bruises on her face.
- Godwin claims that Aftab had promised to marry her in the beginning. Aftab reportedly claims he was irritated with Shraddha pressurising him for marriage.
- Her friend also claims that it is a premeditated murder as Aftab's family shifted from their Vasai house just 15 days earlier.
- Godwin said that Aftab used to be possessive about Shraddha and didn't like him talking to her. Shraddha used to tell Godwin that Aftab was into drugs and even sold them.
- A police complaint was also filed in the matter. Later, Aftab managed to convince Shraddha to return to him by threatening her with suicide.
Here's what Dr Pranav Kabra, who treated Shraddha in Feb 21, said.#ITVideo #Shraddha #DelhiMurder @AkshayDongare_ pic.twitter.com/4Rix5t3Emf
— IndiaToday (@IndiaToday) November 18, 2022
- Aftab wouldn't let Shraddha speak to anyone, wanted to take her to Dubai and once even took her to his father's house in Vasai, revealed Godwin.
- Aftab's parents reportedly asked Shraddha to take care of their son.
- Shraddha's friends and family have claimed that Aftab would often abuse her, beat and emotionally manipulate her.
- She had also told her friends that she wanted to leave Aftab but couldn't because he would threaten her with suicide.
- Aftab has reportedly confessed to being a habitual drug consumer.
Aaftab Ameen Poonawala confesses being a habitual drug consumer.(@AkshayDongare_ )#ITVideo #Shraddha @PoojaShali pic.twitter.com/8jF6t8IYHO
— IndiaToday (@IndiaToday) November 18, 2022
Delhi Police, meanwhile, has got a 5-day extension of Aftab's custody. They had sought a 10-day custody.
- The court has also given permission to the police to conduct a narco-analysis test on Aftab, and Aftab has consented to the same. A narco test cannot be forced on someone.
- Police want to use the analysis to filter out Aftab's lies and inconsistencies with statements.
Shraddha murder case | Police submitted in the court that the accused Aftab is to be taken to Uttrakhand and Himachal Pradesh for investigation. The court also allowed the police application seeking permission for the Narco analysis test of accused Aftab.
— ANI (@ANI) November 17, 2022
- Delhi Police is also planning to take Aftab to Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh to understand what happened in the last few days that Shraddha spent with Aftab there.
- Delhi Police teams are already said to be in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
- Reportedly, Aftab poured hot water on Shraddha's corpse after murdering her to ensure that rigor mortis didn't set in. He dismembered her body in the bathroom and kept the water running so that the blood going down the drain was diluted, say police sources.
- Aftab also reportedly burnt Shraddha's face to hide her identity.
Shraddha murder case | Accused Aftab confessed to the Police that after chopping the body of Shraddha, he burnt her face to conceal her identity. He also confessed that he had searched on the internet for ways to dispose off a body after murder: Delhi Police Sources
— ANI (@ANI) November 17, 2022
Shraddha's father Vikas has claimed that Aftab was trying to leech off of his daughter and take her money. The family has demanded death penalty for Aftab.
- Police have found traces of bloodstains at the Chhatarpur apartment that Aftab and Shraddha shared. They are conducting tests to confirm whether the blood belongs to Shraddha.
- Police have found pieces of bones from Mehrauli forest and have sent it for DNA testing. Moreover, police are also checking whether the severed head and other body parts found in East Delhi in June also belongs to Shraddha.
- The police are mapping CCTV footage to retrace Aftab's trail and activity. They are also reaching out to Bumble, Tinder and other online dating apps which he's said to have used to invite girls over soon after Shraddha's murder.
A spokesperson from Bumble told the media,
- Aftab's phone activity showed that he googled ways to get rid of a body, getting away with murder and the 2010 Dehradun Anupama Gulati murder case which shares several similarities with Shraddha's murder.
What remains unknown:
- Police are yet to find several key evidence materials like the saw reportedly used to chop Shraddha's body, the bags used to store her body parts, Shraddha's skull and other key body parts, and her missing phone among other things.
- Police surprisingly did not find bloodstains in the refrigerator that was used to store Shraddha's body parts. Aftab is said to have wiped the house, fridge and everything else related to the murder clean except for a few hidden spots that he missed.
- Aftab has been changing his statements about the whereabouts of Shraddha's mobile phone.
- He told the police that he sold it on OLX, tossed it somewhere in Delhi or abandoned it in Maharashtra.
Recap: India has been shaken by the grotesque murder of 26-year-old Shraddha Walkar by her live-in partner Aftab Amin Poonawalla. Shraddha and Aftab had met on Bumble in 2019 in Mumbai and had been in a live-in relationship since then, going against their families' wishes. The couple reportedly fought a lot over marriage and Aftab is said to have physically and mentally abused Shraddha.
They quit their jobs this year to move from Mumbai to Delhi. They spent a few months in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand before moving into a rented apartment in Chhatarpur in Delhi on May 16.
Aftab strangled Shraddha to death on May 18 after they reportedly fought over household expenses. He reportedly killed her on the bed and then proceeded to dismember her body and scatter the parts over several days.