Delhi: Man kills live-in partner, chops body into 35 pieces
What's the story
The Delhi Police recently arrested a man for allegedly murdering his live-in partner in May, chopping her body into 35 pieces, and then disposing of them in a forest. The police said that during interrogation, the accused revealed the deceased used to pressurize him to get married. The accused even bought a fridge to keep her body parts, which are yet to be recovered.
Background
Hailed from Mumbai, shifted to Delhi earlier this year
The accused—identified as Aftab Ameen Poonawalla (28)—and the deceased—Shraddha (26) who hailed from Mumbai—used to live in a flat in South Delhi's Mehrauli. After her family didn't approve of their relationship, they shifted to Delhi where she worked at a call center while the accused worked at a private firm in Gurugram, reported The Indian Express. She stopped taking her parents' phone calls in May.
Modus operandi
Strangled her while fighting, then tried to cover up
Reportedly, the couple entered a fight on May 18. When Shraddha began shouting, Poonawalla tried to silence her to ensure the neighbors didn't hear the noise and ended up strangulating her. He chopped up her body using a saw and stored it in a fridge. Over the next 18 days, he went out at 2 am to dispose of the body parts every day.
Disposal
Family got suspicious after observing no social media activity
Poonawalla reportedly went to the Mehrauli forest every night to throw her body parts one by one, so that the animals there ate them, leaving no trace. Although Shraddha had stopped talking to her parents, she used to post her pictures on Facebook, from which her family inferred her whereabouts. When she didn't post anything for a few days, her family grew suspicious.
Complaint
Her family filed a missing case in May
Shraddha's family lodged a missing complaint in Mumbai in May, reported TIE. Last week, they visited the couple's rented Mehrauli house but found it locked. Then Mumbai Police coordinated with the Delhi Police following which a kidnapping case was filed and Poonawalla was arrested. The accused confessed to the crime and the police found related evidence, too. Efforts to recover her body parts are on.