Chandigarh, November 15 Staying active on Shraddha Walkar’s social media account and disposing of her body parts for several days were among the measures Aaftab Amin Poonawala allegedly used to hide the killing of his live-in partner. But it was only a matter of time before his luck ran out and the police came knocking on his door. Even though his partner’s body was in the fridge after he killed her, Aftab Poonawala allegedly contacted the other woman, a psychologist, on Bumble — the same dating app he had first contacted her on in 2019, reports say. This woman, however, was not the only one who visited the house as Walkar’s body was in the refrigerator. Poonawala met many women on the dating app and had a physical relationship with them after killing Walkar, some of his friends, people who gave food and many others visited the house. The couple moved into the house in Mehrauli in May. On the 18th of that month, a fight broke out between them and Poonawalla tried to silence her with his hand. He later allegedly strangled her, police said. The next day, he bought a chainsaw and a 300-liter refrigerator, drawing inspiration from the American crime drama “Dexter.” On May 20, he sawed her body into 35 pieces and threw them in the refrigerator. Poonawala had studied hotel management and was working as a chef a few years ago. He had undergone two weeks of training in how to cut meat, which he used to dismember Walkar’s body. “He mutilated her body for two days,” an official said. Police said Poonawala would pack the fridge freezer with the pieces and put the rest in the bottom tray. After some time, he would remove the frozen pieces to deep freeze those preserved in the tray. He also used incense sticks and room freshener to suppress the bad smell. He would take out the chopped pieces, put them in polythene bags and carry them into the forest in a backpack. “He would go to the jungle around 2 am and come back a few hours later. He repeated this for about 20 days,” the official said. According to the police, Poonawala is “sharp minded” and was more comfortable answering them in English, although he knew Hindi. Poonawala and Walkar met on an online dating app. Later, they started working in the same call center in Mumbai and fell in love. But their families opposed the relationship as they belonged to different religions, so the couple left the financial capital. They went to Himachal Pradesh and later reached Delhi. They stayed at a hotel in Paharganj here for a day and later shifted to a guest house at Saidulajab in south Delhi. On May 15, they moved into the house in Chhattarpur Pahadi. Police said that soon after they moved into the south Delhi house, their relationship turned sour and they suspected each other of having affairs with other people. Even after Walkar was allegedly killed, Poonawala continued to stay in the same flat and ordered food through online apps, police said. Walkar was not in touch with her family members after moving in with Poonawala, but used to chat with her friends on Instagram. After he allegedly killed her, Poonawala used to impersonate Walkar on the app and chat with her friends till June 9. When her status remained inactive for a long time afterwards, her friends informed her family members, who in turn approached the police. According to the FIR, the victim’s father divorced her mother in 2016. The mother died two years ago. He also said that Walkar used to inform her mother earlier that Poonawala used to beat her. Around 15 to 20 days after her mother’s death she called her father and informed him about the same. She had also met him personally later. The FIR citing the victim’s father wrote, “When I asked her to leave Poonawala and return home, she apologized and came back with him. She did not listen to me and hence I stopped talking to her for several months.” According to Ankit Chauhan, Additional DCP-I, South district, the victim’s father called Poonawala one day and learned that the couple had separated some time ago. “Unable to contact his daughter, the father lodged a missing complaint,” Chauhan said. After receiving the complaint, the Mumbai police traced her last location in Delhi and also called Poonawalla, whose contradictory statements raised suspicions, prompting them to book the Delhi Police. On November 7, the Mumbai police sent the case file to the Delhi police. They said Poonawala worked at a call center in Gurugram and was allegedly dating another woman. His landlord claimed that tenant verification had been done before letting the house. “He was stable during interrogation. But when his father came, the accused burst into tears,” said an official. With PTI inputs
