2. When a shocked, wrenched heart is not enough

| Nov 14, 2022, 22:06 IST

The case

A Delhi court on Monday sent a man identified as Aftab Ameen Poonawalla, 28, to five-day police custody for allegedly murdering his 26-year-old live-in partner Shraddha Madan Walkar.
The two had moved to Delhi in April-end or early May from Mumbai after Shraddha’s family disapproved of their interfaith relationship. The alleged crime took place in May and the accused got away with it for about six months.

Love that wasn’t

Shraddha worked at a call centre in Mumbai’s Malad, where she met Aftab. They entered into a relationship and started living together first in Mumbai, then in Delhi’s Mehrauli, where they rented a flat.
Aftab had promised to marry her, police said, but when Shraddha pressed for marriage, he refused, leading to an argument which escalated into a fight.

The crime

Aftab strangulated Shraddha, killing her on May 18. The same night, he ordered food from Zomato. He then chopped her body into 35 pieces with a knife that is yet to be recovered. He is reportedly a trained chef.
He stayed in the same flat to avoid suspicion, and bought a 300-litre fridge to store the body pieces that he disposed of in Delhi forests over 18 days, stepping out of his flat every night after 2 am.

Father comes looking for her

What seemed a perfect crime for six months unravelled a few days ago, when Sharddha’s father Vikash Madan Walkar came looking for her in Delhi.
The search began in September, when Shraddha's friend informed her brother that her mobile phone had been switched off for over two months. Her family scanned her social media accounts, finding no updates there.
Walkar lodged a missing person’s complaint with the Mumbai police, who transferred the case to the Delhi police after ascertaining Shraddha’s last location.
During questioning, Aftab confessed to killing Shraddha. More here

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