Delhi murder case: Aftab Ameen Poonawala taken to Mehrauli forest, 35 body parts found

Police investigation so far has revealed horrifying details in the case.

The Delhi police Tuesday took accused Aftab Ameen Poonawala, 28, to the forest area, where he allegedly threw Shraddha's body parts after murdering her.

The search operation went on for three hours and at least 10 body parts have been found.

The victim's father, Vikas Walkar, on Tuesday, demanded the death penalty for Aftab, while also suspecting a "love jihad" angle behind the incident.

Aaftab was brought out of Mehrauli Police Station and taken to the jungle to recover the body parts he dumped one by one at different spots. Not all her body parts have been found.

Police are also trying to recover the murder weapon used to chop Shraddha's body into pieces, reports India Today.

According to Delhi Police, Aaftab also dumped Shraddha's phone and her last location is being traced so that it can be retrieved, the news channel reported.

Meanwhile, Sharddha's frined Rajat Shukla has recalled a distress message she had sent months before she was killed.

"She was physically abused. She told this to her best friend. Since we were a part of the same friend circle, we were informed about the same," Rajat Shukla told NDTV.

Meanwhile, chilling detail emerged stating that Aftab brought another woman to his apartment days after the murder, with the body parts still in the fridge, the police said.

The police are now investigating if he brouth other women too while he had Shraddha's body parts in the apartment and whether any of them were a trigger for the murder.

What is the case all about?

In a shocking case, Aaftab Ameen Poonawala allegedly strangled his live-in partner, then chopped her body into 35 pieces, stored them in his fridge and dumped them in Delhi's Mehrauli forest over 18 days, media reports said.

He got away with the murder for five to six months.

Every morning at 2 am, he would step out to dump the body parts, reports said.

Aaftab Ameen Poonawala Facebook page

The  28-year-old has been sent to five days in police custody after he was arrested from his flat.

He allegedly strangled his live-in partner Shraddha Walkar on May 18 after they had a fight.

He then chopped her body into 35 pieces and bought a 300-litre fridge to keep them, police said.

Over the next 18 days, he disposed of the pieces in different areas of the Mehrauli forest, they added. In fact, the accused bought a new fridge to store the body pieces.

During the questioning, Aaftab told the police that he and Shraddha had a rocky relationship and often indulged in fights.

He said that Shraddha had been pressuring him to get married and they would frequently quarrel about it.

Where did Shraddha meet Aaftab?

26-year-old Shraddha used to work at the call centre for a multinational company in Mumbai.

Aftab and Shraddha met on the dating app "Bumble" while both were working in Mumbai. The police may ask the dating app for details of his profile to find out whether he brought more women home while he had Shraddha's body parts in the apartment and whether any of them were a trigger for the murder.

The two started dating and moved in together. After her family did not approve of their relationship, the couple eloped to Delhi and started living in a flat in Mehrauli.

In September, Shraddha's friend informed her brother that her mobile phone had been switched off for over two months. This is when the family also checked her social media accounts and found no updates during this period.

In November, her father, Vikash Madan Walker, approached Mumbai police and lodged a missing person complaint.

During the initial investigation, the victim's last location was found in Delhi, and on the basis of this, the case was transferred to Delhi police.

Shraddha's father told the police about his daughter's relationship with Poonawala and suspected he is involved in her disappearance.

On November 8, Vikas Madaan Walkar came to Delhi to check on his daughter and found a lock on her flat. He approached the Mehrauli Police and filed a complaint alleging kidnapping.

In his complaint, Walkar alleged that Shraddha had earlier told him that Poonawala used to frequently beat her.

On the basis of this complaint, police arrested Poonawala on Saturday.

Delhi Commission for Women chief Swati Maliwal said this is the most scary incident she has witnessed in her life.

Inspired by Dexter?

Interestingly, the case has brought popular American series Dexter to the limelight.

According to reports, Aaftab Poonawala has revealed to the police that he was inspired by the show to hack and discard his partner’s body.

Dexter is an American crime drama television series that aired on Showtime from October 1, 2006, to September 22, 2013.

Set in Miami, the series centers on Dexter Morgan (Michael C. Hall), a forensic technician specializing in bloodstain pattern analysis for the fictional Miami Metro Police Department, who leads a secret parallel life as a vigilante serial killer, hunting down murderers who have not been adequately punished by the justice system due to corruption or legal technicalities.