Shraddha Walkar, who was in a live-in relationship with the accused was allegedly strangled by him on May 18 last year. The accused dismembered her body, stored the body parts in a refrigerator, and then disposed of them at isolated locations across Delhi.
New Delhi: In a chilling revelation, Aaftab Amin Poonawala, the accused in the sensational murder case of Shraddha Walkar, confessed to her father that he had “strangulated” her with “his own hands” before dismembering her body. Victim’s father Vikas Walkar further testified that after the murder, Poonawala gruesomely dismembered the victim’s body, and disposed of the body parts in various desolate locations across Delhi to avoid detection by authorities and the public. The father was examined as a prosecution witness by the public prosecutor before the Delhi court. The testimony of Vikas will continue on August 5.Shraddha Walkar, who was in a live-in relationship with the accused Poonawala (28), was allegedly strangled by him on May 18 last year. Following the crime, the accused dismembered her body, stored the body parts in a refrigerator, and then disposed of them at isolated locations across Delhi over several days to evade detection by the police and the public.
Her father recounted his visit to Mehrauli police station on November 11, 2022, where he positively identified Poonawala as the man his daughter had been living with for the past three years. He also informed the police about the frequent altercations and physical abuse his daughter endured during the relationship. He said that during the interrogation, Poonawala was asked about a suspicious transaction from Shraddha’s account two days after the killing but denied any knowledge of it.
“On my inquiry from Poonawala as to where my daughter was, he said she was no more…,” he said. “I was shocked and started feeling dizzy. When I recovered after a while, Poonawala started revealing how he killed my daughter. He told me that he had a fight with my daughter on May 18, 2022 at their Chhatarpur residence and further informed me that he had strangulated Shraddha with his own hands,” he said.
Vikas said that Poonawala went on to describe the gruesome details of how he purchased tools, including a saw, two extra blades, and a hammer, to dismember Shraddha’s body after her death. He then allegedly cut off her wrists and disposed of them in a polythene or trash bag.
Vikas also deposed about meeting Aaftab for the first time after his wife’s death in January 2020, when Shraddha brought the accused to her father’s house in Mumbai. He said that when the family had opposed to Shraddha’s decision to live with Poonawala back in 2019, the victim firmly asserted her right to make her own choices, indicating that she was an adult capable of deciding her future.