Chandigarh, November 15
Staying active on Shraddha Walkar’s social media account and disposing her body parts over several days were among the measures Aaftab Amin Poonawala allegedly employed to conceal his live-in partner’s murder.
But it was only a matter of time before he ran out of luck and the police came knocking at his door.
Even as his live-in partner’s body was in the fridge after he killed her, Aftab Poonawala allegedly got in touch with the other woman, a psychologist, on Bumble—the same dating app on which he had first come in contact with her in 2019, say reports.
This woman, however, was not the only one to have visited the house as Walkar’s body was in the fridge. Poonawala met several women on the dating app and had a physical relationship with them after killing Walkar, some of his friends, food delivery persons, and many others visited the house.
The couple moved to the house in Mehrauli in May. On the 18th of that month, an argument broke out between them and Poonawala tried to shut her mouth with his hand. He later allegedly strangulated her, police said.
The next day, he purchased a saw and a 300-litre refrigerator, taking inspiration from American crime drama ‘Dexter’.
On May 20, he sawed her body into 35 pieces and dumped them in the fridge.
Poonawala had studied hotel management and worked as a chef a few years ago. He had undergone a two-week training on how to cut meat, which he used to chop Walkar’s body.
“He cut her body for two days,” an official said.
Police said Poonawala would pack the refrigerator’s deep freezer with the pieces and put the remaining ones in the bottom tray. After some time, he would take the frozen pieces out to deep freeze those kept in the tray.
He also used incense sticks and room freshener to suppress the foul smell.
He used to take out the chopped pieces, pack them in polythene bags and take them to the forest in a backpack. “He would go to the jungle at around 2 am and return a couple of hours later. He repeated this for around 20 days,” the official said.
According to police, Poonawala is “sharp-minded” and was more comfortable answering them in English though he knew Hindi.
Poonawala and Walkar met each other on an online dating app. Later, they started working for the same call centre in Mumbai and fell in love. But their families objected to the relationship as they belonged to different faiths, prompting the couple to move out of the financial capital.
They went to Himachal Pradesh and later arrived in Delhi. They stayed at a hotel in Paharganj here for a day and later moved to a hostel in Saidulajab in south Delhi.
On May 15, they moved to the house in Chhattarpur Pahadi.
Police said shortly after they shifted to the south Delhi house, their relationship turned sour and they suspected each other of having affairs with other people.
Even after allegedly killing Walkar, Poonawala continued to live in the same flat and ordered food through online apps, police said.
Walkar was not in touch with her family members after she moved in with Poonawala but used to chat with her friends on Instagram.
After allegedly killing her, Poonawala used to impersonate Walkar on the app and chat with her friends until June 9.
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