Delhi: Man's body chopped into 22 pieces by wife, stepson
What's the story
While trying to solve the gruesome murder of Shraddha Walkar, the police stumbled upon another strikingly similar case in east Delhi's Pandav Nagar. A woman and her son from her previous marriage were arrested for murdering her husband in June. They chopped his body into 10 pieces, stored them in a fridge and disposed of it at various places over days.
Context
Why does this story matter?
This comes as the police are still investigating the murder of Shraddha Walkar, whose accused boyfriend Aaftab Poonawala strangled her to death and then chopped up her body into 35 pieces in May. He reportedly bought a 300-liter fridge to store the body parts and disposed of them in Mehrauli forest over 18-20 days. He roamed scot-free for around six months before getting caught.
Information
Deceased's first wife lives in Bihar, has 8 kids
The accused were identified as Poonam (48) and her son Deepak (25), who have reportedly confessed to the crime. The deceased, Anjan Das (45) allegedly kept Poonam in the dark about his first wife and eight children living in Bihar. He sold her jewelry and sent the money to his first wife, following which both accused spiked his drink and killed him.
Twitter Post
The recovered CCTV footage is from June
A woman along with her son arrested by Crime Branch in Delhi's Pandav Nagar for murdering her husband. They chopped off body in several pieces,kept in refrigerator used to dispose of pieces in nearby ground: Delhi Police Crime Branch
— ANI (@ANI) November 28, 2022
(CCTV visuals confirmed by police) pic.twitter.com/QD3o5RwF8X
Background
Married off aged 14, husband deserted her
Poonam told police that she was married off at the age of 14 to one Sukhdev Tiwari, who deserted her and came to Delhi. She reached Delhi to search for him but met one Kallu, and began living together. She then met Das After Kallu died due to liver failure in 2016, she married Das—a lift operator—in 2017, unaware of his first marriage.
Reason
Das allegedly had eyes on stepdaughter, stepson's wife
Deepak told police that he agreed to kill Das because he allegedly harassed his wife and was eyeing his sister. The duo plotted the murder in March-April. They first stabbed him to death, slit his throat, let the blood drain out completely, and then chopped the body. The police have recovered six parts of the body and the fridge in question has been seized.
Missing link
How did the case boomerang?
The police found a bag stuffed with the deceased's decomposed body parts at the Ramlila Maidan in Kalyanpuri in June. When details of Walkar's murder emerged, the recovered body parts were probed but were found to be of a male. Scanning CCTV footage of the area led them to the duo who hadn't filed any police complaint for six months since Das went 'missing'.
Polygraph
Poonawalla's polygraph test to be conducted again
Meanwhile, forensic officials are set to conduct a polygraph test of Poonawalla again on Monday and Tuesday, following which he will undergo a narco test. The results of the tests carried out last week over three sessions didn't yield satisfactory results owing to the accused's poor health. Officials said he was cooperative, and they are trying to find out about other evidence.