Delhi murder: Aaftab used dating app, brought another woman in house after killing Shraddha

Aaftab Poonawala, who allegedly strangled his live-in partner Shraddha Walker and chopped her body into 35 pieces, started dating and brought another woman to his house even while Sharddha’s body parts were stored in his refrigerator, police said.  

The police said Aaftab met another woman through a dating app and brought her to the same flat, where he had allegedly killed Shraddha, The Indian Express reported. The police said Aaftab had met Shraddha too on a dating app a couple of years back.  

The other woman visited Aaftab a couple of times in June and July, at that time Shraddha’s body parts were stored in the kitchen and the fridge. The police added that the head and the torso were kept till the month of August. 

Also read: Delhi murder case: Shraddha Walker's father says he wants accused Aaftab hanged to death

The case 

Police claimed Aaftab murdered Shraddha on 18 May after an argument. Both belong to Vasai in Maharashtra’s Palghar district and had shifted to Delhi this year, and had been staying in Chhatarpur since May.  

Aaftab, 28, was arrested on Monday from his flat in Chhatarpur after Shraddha's father lodged an FIR at the Mehrauli police station on November 8 stating that his daughter had gone missing and that the family hadn’t been in touch with her for more than two months. Shraddha's phone was switched off. 

During the interrogation, Aaftab said he and Shraddha had a rocky relationship and often had serious fights as she was pressuring him to get married. 

How Aaftab managed to cover up  

Police claim that Aaftab said after strangling his partner on May 18, he then dismembered her body with a sharp weapon and bought a fridge to store the chopped up parts.  

In the next 16 days, he would allegedly go out at the night and dispose of the pieces, including in Mehrauli’s garbage dumps and jungle. 

The police say Aaftab was inspired by the American drama series Dexter. According to the police, after chopping up Shraddha's body, he “wiped the floor with detergents and used agarbattis to get rid of the foul smell”. 

Poonawala stored her body parts in the fridge alongside ice cream and cold drinks, the police said. 

Police added that Aaftab had chemically cleaned his flat and the floors of the rooms where the crime took place. When the police recovered the fridge, there was not a speck of blood in it.