Shraddha Walkar murder: Poonawalla under 24x7 watch in Delhi jail
Aftab Ameen Poonawalla—who confessed to chopping up his live-in girlfriend Shraddha Walkar's body and disposing of it after strangling her in May—has been kept under round-the-clock watch in jail at South Delhi's Mehrauli Police Station. Reportedly, CCTV footage showed him lying down in a cell he shares with another inmate. He will stay in this jail for five days until the next court order.
Why does this story matter?
- The Delhi Police arrested Poonawalla (28) on Saturday for killing Walkar (26) in May, chopping her body into 35 pieces, and subsequently trying to cover up the murder.
- The couple had met years ago while working at a Mumbai call center.
- After a few years of their relationship, they moved to Delhi as the parents of the deceased didn't approve of their inter-faith relationship.
'Two constables on constant guard'
Citing sources, India Today has reported that the Delhi Police is keeping a close watch on Poonawalla in the jail. "Two constables on constant guard," it quoted a source as saying. Besides "physical manning," round-the-clock CCTV monitoring of Poonawalla is being done, the publication said.
'No remorse and no guilt': Police
Murderer Aftab Amin under police scrutiny inside Mehrauli PS
— Rohan Dua (@rohanduaT02) November 15, 2022
Delhi police tells @AlokReporter that during interrogation, Aftab never showed any remorse over Shraddha. He cried only on one occasion when his father visited police stn after his arrest
He speaks in accented English pic.twitter.com/TxNlCMlyxo
Psychopathic details revealed about accused
The Delhi Police said Poonawalla revealed he was inspired by Dexter—an American show about a psychopath leading a double life. His internet search history also showed that he looked up human anatomy to chop Walkar's body and ways to clean blood. Poonawalla even ground the victim's intestines to keema and kept cold drinks near her severed head in a fridge bought after the murder.
Accused used to assault her: Victim's friends
Meanwhile, friends of the deceased from her hometown, Palghar, Maharashtra, told ANI the couple had been together since 2018. One of her friends, Rajat Shukla, said they were initially happy, but later Walkar told them the accused used to beat her up, and she wanted to ditch him but couldn't do so. Another friend, Laxman Nadir, said they even warned Poonawalla against assaulting her.
How did the murder happen?
The couple entered a fight on May 18 as Walkar wanted to get married. When she began shouting, Poonawalla tried to silence her and ended up strangulating her. Though Walkar stopped talking to her family long ago, she used to post photos on Facebook, which kept her family apprised of her whereabouts. When she didn't post anything for days, her family grew suspicious.
So far, police found 13 body parts of deceased
Cops found 13 body parts of Walkar—mostly bones—which Poonawalla dumped in the woods in Delhi's Chhatarpur Pahadi area over 18-20 days, per The Indian Express. After chopping the body using a saw, he went out every night to dispose of the parts one by one.
Her family filed a missing case in May
Walkar's family reportedly lodged a missing complaint in Mumbai in May. Last week, her father visited the couple's rented house in Delhi's Chhattarpur Pahari but found it locked. Then the Mumbai Police coordinated with the Delhi Police, following which a kidnapping case was filed. Poonawalla was later arrested and he even confessed to the crime. Meanwhile, efforts to recover Walkar's body parts are on.
