Aftab Amin Poonawala, a Mumbai-based food-blogger, was arrested for strangling his live-in partner Shraddha Walker, sawing her body into 35 pieces and dumping the parts across Delhi over several days. 

He was brought to the Mehrauli Police Station on Monday and then taken to the spot in the jungle where he allegedly disposed off parts of Shraddha’s body.

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Poonawala told the police during the investigation that he killed Shraddha after a quarrel over marriage and the idea of chopping her body into pieces was inspired by “Dexter”, an American crime TV series.

“Aftab dumped Shraddha’s phone, her last location being traced so that it can be retrieved. Police are 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,” Delhi Police said on Monday. 

Who is Aftab Amin Poonawala?

Poonawala, as per reports, is a food blogger. He is 28 years old and lived in Unique Park, Diwanman in Mumbai’s Vasai West. His mother is a housewife and father, a wholesale supplier of shoes.

He studied at St. Francis High School in Vasai and graduated with a B.M.S degree from L S Raheja College. 

Aftab and Shraddha lived in Regal Apartment in Sanskruti Complex, Vasai West before moving to Delhi. They reportedly started dating when she worked at the call centre for a multinational company.

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When their families refused to accept their relationship, the couple shifted to Delhi. They lived in a rented apartment in Chhatarpur. 

Shraddha Walker’s father, Vikas, said that he suspects a love-jihad angle in her murder. 

Speaking to ANI, he said, “I suspected a love jihad angle. We demand the death penalty for Aftab. I trust 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 Aftab. I lodged the first complaint in Mumbai’s Vasai.”