Accused Aaftab Poonawala allegedly killed his live-in partner Shraddha Walkar in a “fit of rage” on May 18, 2022, the Delhi Police has claimed in its chargesheet filed in the case on Tuesday. In its voluminous 6,629-page chargesheet, the police claim that accused Aaftab lost his temper during a fight with Shraddha after she met an old friend on the day.
“The accused did not like the fact that she had gone to meet a friend. He became worried. He killed her that day,” Joint Commissioner of Police Meenu Choudhary said while speaking to reporters on Tuesday.
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Aaftab Poonawala, 28, is accused of killing Shraddha Walkar, 27, at their rented house in Mehrauli. After killing Shraddha, Aaftab allegedly cut her body into several pieces and disposed of them across Delhi over the next three weeks in a bid to destroy evidence. The couple had moved to Delhi from Mumbai in May and were together in a live-in relationship.
According to the police, a total of nine teams were formed to solve the case. The police probe also saw some teams travel to Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Maharashtra to collect evidence and talk to people to get a larger picture. “We collected body parts for a long time. A lot of technology went into analysing the evidence. We got a DNA and other forensic tests done,” the Joint CP said, adding that over 150 people were questioned and their statements recorded while framing the chargesheet.
As per the chargesheet, Aaftab allegedly used five kinds of knives and other tools, including a saw, blade, and meat cleaver, to chop Shraddha’s body into pieces. While the saw and blade were dumped in the bushes in Gurugram, the meat cleaver was discarded in a dustbin in south Delhi, it added.
Aaftab Poonawala was arrested from Delhi following a complaint by Shraddha’s father in Maharashtra in October, almost five months after the crime was allegedly committed. The father-daughter duo had been out of touch over the former’s disappointment over Shraddha’s inter-faith relationship.