Delhi murder: Aaftab told the police 'Yes, I killed her'

The Delhi police has made several sensational claims in the ongoing Shraddha Walkar murder case.

Police sources said that one common friend of the accused Aaftab and the victim has been called for questioning.

The police said this was the same friend who had intimated Shraddha's father about her going incommunicado.

"One common friend of Aaftab Poonawala and Shraddha Walkar has been called for questioning. This is the friend who had intimated Shraddha's father about her going incommunicado," the sources said.

The sources further said that Aaftab had used only one weapon to chop Shraddha's body parts. The weapon is yet to be recovered.

The sources also said that Aaftab broke down while the police grilled him and spoke only in English, stating "Yes, I killed her."

 "As per the police, only one weapon was used to chop Shraddha's body parts. Aaftab had used a mini saw to chop off the body parts. The mini saw is yet to be recovered. Aaftab broke down after they grilled him when he gave confusing timelines of when Shraddha left him," the sources claimed.

The police sources claimed that the accused used Shraddha's Instagram account until June to give an impression of her being alive.

"Aaftab dumped Shraddha's phone, her last location is being traced so that it can be retrieved. The police are also searching for the weapon used to chop her body into pieces. He used her Instagram account until June to give an impression of her being alive," the sources said.

The police will interrogate him on this angle also.

The sources claimed that Aftab searched on Google for ways to chop the body. He put Shraddha's and his blood-stained clothes in MCD's garbage van.

Earlier on Tuesday, Aaftab was taken to the spot in the jungle where he allegedly disposed of parts of Shraddha's body.

The father of Shraddha Walkar, a Maharashtrian who was allegedly murdered by her live-in partner Aaftab in the national capital, on Tuesday demanded death penalty for the accused while also suspecting a "love jihad" angle behind the incident.

Speaking to ANI, Shraddha's father, Vikas Walkar said, "I suspected a love jihad angle. We demand the death penalty for Aftab. I trust the Delhi police and the probe moving in the right direction. Shraddha was close to her uncle and didn't talk to me much. I was never in touch with Aaftab. I lodged the first complaint in Vasai."

The Delhi police’s probe into the Shraddha Walkar murder case has revealed that the accused Aaftab Poonawalla was a food blogger who used to work at a call centre in the national capital. The police are now investigating if he had rented a flat in Delhi's Chhatarpur area as part of a conspiracy to kill the victim.

The police investigation has also revealed that the couple had frequent fights.

According to police sources, before shifting to Delhi in 2022, the couple had come into a relationship in 2019. They stayed in Maharashtra for some time but used to visit various places as part of their travel plans.

According to the police, they went to hill stations in March-April. Both of them had travelled to Himachal Pradesh for a few days in May and stayed together, where they met a man who lived in Delhi's Chhatarpur. As per reports, upon shifting to Delhi, they had initially stayed at the flat of this man they had met in Himachal. However, the stay did not change the situation between them.

Later, Aaftab rented a flat in Chhatarpur where he shifted with Shraddha. She was reportedly strangled to death on May 18 in the Chhatarpur flat. The police have come to know that the room was taken on rent a few days before the murder.

"It is also a matter of investigation whether Aaftab had already hatched a conspiracy to kill her," the police sources said.

The accused told the police during interrogation that he used to take the pieces of the dead body for disposal at 2 am so as not to be detected.

"Looking at Aaftab's social media accounts, it is known that he had also done food blogging for some time, although no video had come about his blogging for a long time. His last post came in the month of February, after which there was no activity on the profile. He has more than 28,000 followers on Instagram," the sources said.

"It is learned that after the murder, Aaftab used to come back home by 6-7 pm and then used to take the pieces of the dead body kept in the fridge for disposal. The accused used to carry the pieces of the carcass in a black foil but had thrown the pieces out of the foil in the forest, making it difficult to ascertain if the pieces were thrown or the remains were due to animal hunting," the sources said.

Aaftab and Shraddha met on a dating app and later moved in together in a rented accommodation in Chhatarpur. The Delhi police received a complaint from Shraddha's father and registered an FIR on November 10.

The police said that Aftab, after searching on Google, cleaned the blood stained floor with chemicals and disposed of the stained clothes. He shifted the body to bathroom and bought a refrigerator from a nearby shop. Later, he chopped the body into small pieces and put them in the fridge.

Officials said that Shraddha Walkar (27) from Mumbai, met the Aaftab while working at a call center in Mumbai.

"The two got together via a dating app in Mumbai. They were in a live-in relationship for three years and had shifted to Delhi. Soon after the two shifted to Delhi, Shraddha started pressurising the man to marry her," Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), South Delhi, Ankit Chauhan, told ANI.

"The two quarreled frequently and it used to get out of control. In this particular instance that occurred on May 18, the man lost his temper and strangled her," said Chouhan.

"The accused told us that he chopped her into pieces and disposed of her body parts in nearby areas in the jungle area of Chhatarpur Enclave," added DCP Chouhan.