Mehrauli murder case: Drunk Aaftab Poonawala blurted out murder, bragged of 'Dexter'-ity

MUMBAI: Food blogger Aaftab Poonawala, who is being probed for murdering his live-in partner Shraddha Walkar and chopping her body into 35 pieces in May, had avoided suspicion for months and could have carried on till he fell into the trap of Vasai cops, who had him tailed closely, and let drop during a long drinking session about having killed Walkar.

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Poonawala, 28, who was summoned for questioning after October 6 when an application submitted by Shraddha's father Vikas about his missing daughter set a probe rolling, had clearly thought out a plan to stonewall the police. Poonawala, the prime suspect, did not hesitate to talk about his live-in relationship with Shraddha, 26. He told the cops Shraddha had left their Delhi home after a tiff, and admitted it was a mistake not to have tried to patch up or check on her. With sincerity, he offered all help in tracing Shraddha.

Police sources said when he was allowed to go after questioning in October, Poonawala clearly felt confident. He left thinking he was playing a perfect double game: co-operating with the police in the search for his 'dead' live-in partner.



When he was called for a second round of questioning early this month, he gave some contradictory statements. Alerted, cops stepped up surveillance but made Poonawala feel that routine questioning was over and nothing suspicious had emerged. The sources said Poonawala visited a bar in Vasai and during a binge, he gave out details of how he murdered Shraddha. Poonawala spoke about being inspired by the American drama series, 'Dexter', and about his intense search on the internet for help in cutting the body into pieces, added the sources.

When Poonawala left Mumbai a day after meeting the cops on November 3, the police alerted their Delhi counterparts to keep tabs on him. The cops landed at his home on November 10 and picked him up for questioning. He is believed to have disclosed details of the murder and the cover-up.





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