Aaftab Poonawala was insecure, strangled Shraddha Walkar over man she met on dating app: Chargesheet

“She had met a friend on the day of the incident. Aaftab was upset over this and got violent. We have recorded ‘fit of rage’ as one of the reasons for the murder,” said Meenu Choudhary, Joint Commissioner of Police (Southern range). Police said the couple fought for half an hour before Walkar’s death.

The chargesheet filed Tuesday has testimonies of over 182 witnesses. It states that Poonawaala strangled Walkar and chopped her body into multiple pieces, and threw them in the Mehrauli jungle near their home. Choudhary said that the chargesheet has been filed under IPC sections 302 (murder) and 201 (destruction of evidence).

While police have recovered some of Walkar’s body parts, the weapons seized by them have not tested positive for her DNA, nor do they have blood traces, it is learnt. “We recovered a few scissors, knives, saw and hammers but we don’t know if these were used in the murder” said an officer.

Police have not been able to recover Walkar’s phone.

A source from the investigating team said the chargesheet mentions Aaftab was “insecure” in the relationship and had “strangled” Walkar in the past too.

“They were in a toxic relationship. She didn’t leave because she comes from a broken family, having lost her mother. She saw Aaftab as a support system. They dated for three years and often had abusive fights. We also mentioned the two year old Mumbai Police complaint which Walkar had lodged against him… It quotes her as saying he was going to strangle her and chop her,” said another officer.

One of the main witnesses in the case is Walkar’s father, who had lodged a complaint in Mumbai and later in Delhi about her disappearance. The other witnesses are Walkar’s ex-colleague in Mumbai and a childhood friend. “She had confided in them about the relationship. She told her childhood friend about Aaftab’s abusive nature and told them she wanted to break things off,” said an officer.

Another witness in the case is the woman who briefly dated Aaftab after the murder. The two met on Bumble and the woman, a clinical psychologist, didn’t know anything about his past relationships. Police recovered Walkar’s ring from the woman and recorded her statement since she had visited the couple’s house a few weeks after the murder, even as Walkar’s body parts were still in the fridge.

According to the police, nine teams were formed, including a Special Investigation Team, to find evidence and look for Walkar’s remains, and they visited multiple locations in Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, Haryana and Maharashtra.

A total of 13-16 body pieces – pelvic, limb bones, parts of skull – have been recovered, which have matched Walkar’s father’s DNA. Police said they also recovered Walkar’s hair from a forest area in Gurgaon. Aaftab worked at Gurgaon and allegedly dumped a few pieces of evidence near his office.

Several scientific tests were conducted to extract evidence: DNA mitochondrial profiling, narco analysis, layered voice analysis and facial recognition. “The results of these tests are in line with the investigation. We made several recoveries,” said the Joint CP. Mobile phones, laptop, social media apps and call details were also analysed and recorded in the chargesheet.

Curated For You

Young Bengaluru doctor had heart attack despite gym workouts, a lean body and sleeping on time: What was his trigger?

Dharmendra’s mom met Hema Malini secretly; Prakash Kaur shared she ‘understands’ what Hema went through

‘It may sound a little odd, but let me explain’: AIIMS doctor on why drinking more chai in winter may worsen joint stiffness