Killing of Shraddha Walker

Shraddha Walker ( – May 2022) was an Indian girl who lived in South Delhi with her boyfriend Aaftab Amin Poonawala. On November 10, her father filed a missing person report at Mehrauli Police Station, South Delhi district, and based on his complaint an FIR was registered by the police, and an investigation was initiated to find Shraddha.

Killing of Shraddha Walker

Date	2022-05
Location	South Delhi, India
Deaths	Shraddha Walker
Suspects	Aaftab Amin Poonawala

On November 14, her boyfriend Aaftab Amin Poonawala was arrested after Delhi police started probing into a missing complaint filed by Shraddha’s father.

Background

The image of the 26-year-old victim Shraddha Walker

Shraddha was born and brought up in a Hindu family and was working in a call center in Malad, Mumbai where she met Aaftab Amin Poonawala, and gradually both started dating each other. After a few months, Shraddha’s parents came to know about their relationship and in 2019, Shraddha told her mother that she wanted to have a live-in relationship with Aftab, but her family refused to allow her to get into a live-in relationship with him due to religious differences. However, Shraddha was adamant about her decision and left the home to live with Aftab.

After some time, Shraddha’s friends informed her parents about her whereabouts, and they came to know that the duo had shifted to Naya Gaon and later to Vasai. According to the FIR, Shraddha started calling her mother and informed her that Aftab often fought with her and physically assaulted her as well.

On January 1, 2020, Shraddha’s mother passed away and around 20 days after her death, Shraddha called her father a couple of times and reported the same. Her father requested her to leave Aftab and come back home. However, Aftab apologised to her, and she went back.

On September 14, a close friend of Shraddha called her brother and informed him that he could not contact Shraddha for two months, and a day after he told Shraddha’s father that he was in regular contact with Shraddha, but her phone had been switched off for the last two months. Shraddha's father then tried her phone, but it did not connect so he decided to file a complaint at Manikpur Police Station. Manikpur Police transferred the case to Mehrauli Police Station and informed her father that the duo had shifted to Delhi.

Investigation

The image of the murderer Aaftab Amin Poonawala

On November 10, her father filed a missing person report at Mehrauli Police Station, South Delhi district, and based on his complaint, an FIR was registered under Section 365 of the Indian Penal Code by the police, and an investigation was initiated to find Shraddha. During the investigation, Aftab told the investigating officers that his Shraddha left the house on 22 May after a fight leaving her belongings back in their flat. He further claimed that he tried contacting her, but her number was unreachable. Aftab alleged that after several attempts, he had stopped calling her and did not come in contact with her, but he was caught lying when police checked their phone call records and traced their locations.

The police then found that Aftab Amin Poonawala, with whom Shraddha was in a live-in relationship, allegedly killed her in May. He reportedly chopped her into 35 pieces and disposed of them one by one. It was also reported that after chopping the body of Shraddha, he burnt her face to conceal her identity. He was arrested on November 14 and a case under IPC sections 302 (murder) and 201 (causing disappearance of evidence of an offence committed) was registered at Mehrauli police station. He was then presented to the court and was sent to five days police custody which was later extended to another five days on November 17.

The 300-litre refrigerator used to store Shraddha’s dismembered body

According to the sources, Aftab told police that the duo got into an argument, and he strangulated her. The next day, he purchased a saw to chop her dead body into 35 pieces and brought a new 300-liter refrigerator to store Shraddha’s dismembered body. Aftab then started disposing of the pieces daily in nearby areas in the jungle area of Chhatarpur Enclave.

It was also reported that after murdering Shraddha, he installed the same dating app on which they first met and created another profile, and dated another woman. While Shraddha’s dead body pieces were in the fridge and kitchen, Aftab brought another woman to the apartment a few times on the date.

The police on November 15, the Delhi Police moved a court to conduct a Narco test on Aaftab Ameen Poonawala claiming that he is not cooperating during the investigation and making attempts to mislead the police. The court then approved their request for narco analysis test.

Findings

The police found 10-13 bones from the forest where Aaftab claimed to have disposed of the 35 pieces of Shradhha Walkar's body after killing her. The bones were sent to the forensic lab to rule out if they belong to any animal. During the search at his flat the investigator team found blood stains in the kitchen and the samples were sent for examination. The kitchen was the only place in the flat where the forensic team could gather blood stains as Aaftab had chemically cleaned the flat. The police also recovered the 300-liter fridge that Aaftab used to store chopped body parts. A pending water bill of ₹300 was also found which proves he used a huge amount of water.

Shraddha's skull, her mobile phone and the clothes Shraddha and Aaftab were wearing on May 18 are yet to be found.